Like a Cloud in the Wind
by E.M. Megs
Summary: From the moment my hand shook his and I saw his fake smile, I knew I hated his bastard guts. And that would never change. He would put himself before me. What I didn't know, was that he would be the one who searched the hardest for me when I disappeared.
1. The Bloody Devil

_Like a Cloud in the Wind_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 1 – The Bloody Devil_

I was 15 when we moved away from our nice house in London to Tokyo. I hadn't wanted to move to Japan. I would've been very happy to stay with my friends in England, thank you very much.

Alright. That's a lie. Everyone knew that I hated people. I was even borderline hating my own family at times. The only friend I'd ever had was the guy who had lived with my family for two years now. His parents had died in a freak accident and he had been automatically placed into our custody. Why? I still had no clue. He had other family in Scotland. Shouldn't have family overruled family friends? Or maybe his parents just hated the idea of their only son and heir to the Shireston company living with distant relatives that they had never even met. Or at least they hadn't from what I could tell.

My father _could _have gone without us. He _could _have taken a three year business trip without Mother, Pierce, Tate, and I. I was bloody content with the way things had been back in England.

But, he had claimed that we needed to see more of the world. Not just Europe and the States. But Asia, Africa, and South America as well. He even had it planned that once we moved back to England we would go live in Africa for a year after we had some visiting time with friends and family and South America after that. Why Africa and South America were so important I had no clue. If you asked me Asia, Europe, and the States were the only really important places when it pertained to business.

I sighed as we pulled up to the mansion my father had bought even though we'd only be living there for 3 years supposedly. I stepped out of the car lightly and shielded my eyes from the brightness of the sun in my face. "Kaydence," my mother called over the top of the limousine, "Come with me to greet the neighbors would you?"

I cast my eyes to the sky, silently cursing it and myself for not running inside as soon as we'd arrived. "Yes, Mother," I replied stiffly, not amused with the idea of meeting other people. My mother, Felicity as I often called her by her first name in my mind, still hadn't gotten the idea in her head that I was anti-social and didn't want to deal with others.

"Pierce, Tate, you too," she added. They made faces but heaved great sighs and took off with us. I followed her back down the driveway and then across to the sidewalk. Felicity's heels clicked on the pavement as she strode confidently. I trailed behind, dragging my feet somewhat. Tate and Pierce trailed somewhat of a greater distance behind me. I guessed they were trying to find a bush or something they could duck behind in order to get out of meeting neighbors with my mother.

She looked back. "Keep up, boys!" she called as we reached the next house over. I heard Pierce swear under his breath and snickered slightly. Like it was perfectly normal to stride up to the house of a rich and powerful family, we walked toward the house. Briefly I wondered why Mother was doing this instead of Father. Father was the businessman.

I shook my head and sighed. Layne avoided contact with people like it was the plague. Felicity was the social butterfly. Layne was just as anti-social as I was. He just put on a fake smile and gave a handshake and pretended to be perfectly fine with the bastard-like people we were doing business with.

I gave a soft sigh of annoyance as my mother stopped at the front door and rang the doorbell. A butler quickly answered the door and greeted us, glancing at my mother's fancy dress. "How may I assist you?" he asked.

"We just moved in next door and thought we'd make ourselves familiar with our neighbors," Mother mentioned vaguely. Inwardly I rolled my eyes, hating her entire show.

"Ahh. Yoshio-sama isn't home at the moment but I can direct you to Nari-sama and the young masters," the butler replied respectively. My mother nodded in agreement as he invited the four of us in. "I'll go announce you to them. Please sit and make yourselves at home."

I sat in a chair and crossed my arms over my chest in annoyance with this entire thing. Tate and Pierce stood close to the couch snickering and whispering at something. I heard my name and shot a glare in their direction. Tate winked and gave me a smirk. "Kaydence, stop crossing your arms and sit up straight," Felicity scolded. "We need to make a good impression."

I rolled my eyes visibly and scoffed before obeying. Mother and her damn first impressions. An older woman, young man, and a boy about my age soon appeared, bringing an end to my brother and best friend's whispering. They knew when to shut their bloody traps at least.

Mother stood to greet them and the older woman smiled pleasantly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Felicity Malronda," Mother introduced herself before turning and beckoning me forward. I sighed inwardly before standing up and shuffling forward. She placed a hand on my shoulder and introduced my brother first. "This is my son Pierce." Pierce shook the woman's hand. Next came Tate. "And Tate Shireston, my adopted son for all intensive purpose. And my daughter, Kaydence."

I noticed Tate's face darken at my mother's mention of him being her son. He hated it when she did that. Just because we had adopted him did _not _mean that he was her son or that he ever would be. He shook her hand nonetheless, forcing himself to smile as I was right now. I took her hand in my grasp and shook as well when I was introduced. I always had a sense for knowing what people were like just by touching them. No one knew about it but Tate and I. When I had met him I had instantly known that we would be best friends.

Now, while I was shaking the woman who introduced herself as Nari Ohtori, I instantly knew that she was vain and spiteful. I had to hold in the urge to lick my lips with distaste at all the vanity and spite radiating off of her.

The young man was Akito Ohtori, her step-son. As I shook his hand I felt his ambition. He was selfish. Again I was tempted to show my distaste for this family already but suppressed it.

The boy was, as I had guessed, 14 like me, though he looked slightly older. His mother introduced him as Kyoya Ohtori, her youngest step-son. As soon as my hand met his, I knew that I hated him the most of the three of them. I hated him and that would never change, no matter how handsome he was. He put on a smile for the sake of impressing others, but that smile never reached his eyes. It was never a true one. He was selfish. He would save his own life before ever stepping in front of a bullet for a friend. He would use you for business purposes and throw you away later. I felt myself glaring at him and stopped immediately, forcing a smile instead. "Nice to meet you," I murmured pleasantly, suppressing my gag reflex.

"And you as well," he said in reply, eyes twinkling with something I knew couldn't be good and a smirk playing on his lips. I wanted to slap it off his face.

"Ah, yes. Kaydence will be attending Ouran institute as well, starting tomorrow," Felicity was saying, snapping me out of my staring match with this insufferable boy.

"What? I thought I was going to Lobelia?" I gritted out. There was no way that she was making me go to school with _him_.

"Change of plans, your father made this morning on the flight, didn't I tell you?" she replied, looking at me. I felt a corner of my mouth twitch with annoyance.

"You failed to mention it," I stated slowly, refraining from swearing somehow. Inside my temper was making me swear like a bloody sailor. I tried not to let my annoyance with my parents show. There would be no end to the lecture I would get at home if I let it show in front of these people.

"Well, the arrangements are all set. You and Tate will be starting at Ouran Institute as 1st and 2nd year high schoolers tomorrow." My jaw locked.

"Yes, Mother," I all but spat. "We should be getting home to unpack don't you think?"

Felicity glanced at her watch, oblivious to my annoyance. "Goodness. You're right Kaydence. It was nice meeting you and your sons, Nari-san."

Nari nodded and put on that smile again that made me want to punch her. "Feel free to drop by whenever you feel the need to."

"We will. Should have dinner sometime together when your husband's home," Mother mentioned with a wink. God, I had never wanted to smack my mother so much. Kyoya smirked, I noticed. He must have seen the utter annoyance on my face. I glared at him.

"Yes, I'll arrange it with Yoshio once he's home. Goodbye!"

Mother started walking back toward the door, her heels clicking on the marble floors and my "brothers" and I on her tail, eager to get out of that godforsaken house.

–

As soon as we walked in the door I set off to claim my room. I had a need for one on the West side of the house, next to Tate. Tate didn't care where he stayed so he merely followed me. Pierce set off in the completely opposite direction, preferring the East wing. I wandered the halls, quickly locating the room at the farthest end of the house and claiming it as mine while Tate took the one across the hall.

My room was spacious but not as big as one would expect in a mansion. I think it was the smallest bedroom in the entire house, in fact. The walls were a soft light silvery blue, the ceiling white. A large window was the only window in the room and the only light source until I turned on the lights that were mounted on the wall in intervals. The curtains were rather dark to contrast with the light colors surrounding the room. I liked that. It would keep the sunlight from waking me up in the morning.

Against the wall in the left back corner was a double bed with a dark blue and white quilt and loads of fluffy pillows. A dresser sat at the end of it. There were double doors on the back wall and upon opening them I discovered a walk in closet that I would probably only half fill. Near the window was a wooden desk that would probably be stacked with papers and books soon enough. A bookshelf was next to the desk, ready to be filled with my massive collection of novels.

It was peaceful there. I loved it. A knock at the door announced the arrival of Annabeth, my personal servant but more of a friend. She had a suitcase in one hand and behind her were several other menservants carrying my own luggage. "Hello Miss!" she said cheerfully. I grinned.

"Annabeth! I didn't know father was allowing you to come with us!" I said, running forward to embrace her. "And I thought I told you to call me Kay."

Annabeth sweat-dropped. "Sorry, Mi–Kay. I'm so used to calling you Miss while your parents are around."

"You've known me since I was 5. It's hardly necessary to call me Miss any longer," I replied. She nodded in agreement. "I'm so excited you're here though! I thought for sure that Father was going to send you to Grandmother and Grandfather."

"Aye. Well, Mr. Layne decided it was better if you still had me to keep you steady with changing schools." I twitched momentarily, once again reminded of the fact that I was _not _going to Lobelia but Ouran with that insufferable boy named Kyoya. "Something wrong, Kay?"

I shook my head. "No. Just a bit bloody annoyed with the fact that my father changed schools on me at the last minute," I stated in reply.

"He means well, love," Annabeth said, patting my arm sympathetically. I heard Tate call her for something. "Ahh. I'll be staying in the room next to you if you need anything, Kay." I nodded and she smiled and left. She was such a sweet young woman. She'd been 20 when she had first met me. I, being myself, had shunned her to start with. But, eventually, I grew to like her.

I dragged a massive suitcase over to the closet and began to hang things in the closet, tossing some of them to the side to put in the dresser. Soon I moved to my dresser and began stuffing clothing into it instead.

I heaved a sigh as I packed the last of it up in the dresser and started taking pictures out of a box. I spread them throughout the room. Most of them were of me, Tate, or Annabeh. A few were of my family at various occasions. None of them, however, pictured anyone other than those 5 and myself. It just screamed anti-social.

I wasn't looking forward to school tomorrow. Mostly because I knew that I would just be an outcast among complete strangers. Another because I didn't particularly care to shake hands with and know a hundred people. I avoided touching strangers when possible.

"Kay! I have your school uniform for tomorrow!" Annabeth called, scurrying into the room. She held up a yellow dress with a white collar. I stared at it. "Isn't it cute?"

I looked at her and then back at the dress. "Not exactly the word I'd use to describe it," I muttered, trying to keep the disgust off my face for the sake of her opinions. Now I definitely wasn't looking forward to morning. At least the Lobelia uniforms I had seen had _some _taste.

Annabeth eyed the two rather large boxes of books still sitting in the corner and scuttled over to it. "I'll help you unpack these!"

"Thank you, Annabeth," I murmured with a smile, striding over to take one of them as she took the other and carried it to the bookshelf. I gently pushed the books onto appropriate shelves. I had only brought my favorites and ones that were on my reading list. They only filled up half of the entire shelf. I was sure that I'd stop by a book store at some point and get more.

I glanced at the clock I had set on my dresser and faced toward my bed. "Bloody hell," I mumbled, "I need to sleep."

Annabeth glanced behind her from where she was setting up my laptop on the desk. She squeaked. "Oh my. You do. Shall I leave you to get ready for bed?" I nodded. "Goodnight, Kaydence."

"Night Annabeth," I said quietly, listening for the door to close behind her before changing into my silk nightgown. My bed was soft and the sheets were smooth. I set my alarm for seven o'clock before flicking the lights off. Sleep overtook me as soon as I shut my eyes.

–

I glared at my alarm clock as it blared loudly. Childishly, I pulled my pillow over my head and groaned out loud. Annabeth scurried into the room soon and tugged at my covers. "Time to get up Miss Kay!" she said cheerfully. She was way too much of a morning person. I never had been. Not even when I was little and bouncing off the walls. "Miss Kay! You'll be late for school!"

I growled lowly and turned to glare at her. "You know that doesn't work with me, Miss. Now get up. I shan't be having you late to school. Your father would have my head if you were late on your first day."

"What about Tate and Pierce?" I grunted.

"Tate's already up. And you know Pierce graduated last year." I sighed with envy at my older brother. He had finished with school. He was to inherit Lane's textile industry and trading company. He had his life planned out for him. I still had yet to figure out what I was going to do with mine. I didn't want to live off my parents money for the rest of my life. But I didn't want to have to work with anyone. There wasn't that many things you could choose as a career that didn't involve working with people.

"Kaydence Malronda," Annabeth started, trying to sound strict and failing utterly.

"I know, I know. Bloody hell! I'm up!" I grumbled, rolling out of bed and stretching. Annabeth applauded my ability to get out of bed on time while scurrying to grab a brush and hair tie to pull back my unruly wavy dark brown hair. A bit of it was too short to fit in the ponytail and fell back to frame my face. She once more presented my uniform which made me groan at just the thought of wearing it. Reluctantly, I stripped off my nightgown and pulled it on.

_'Well, on the bright side I won't be the only one wearing a blindingly hideous yellow dress.' _I thought rather sarcastically. I hated dresses as much as it was. The fact that this one was _yellow_, my least favorite color, did not help in the slightest. The shoes were slightly better. Mary Janes.

"Breakfast is ready, Kay!" Annabeth called from outside the door.

"Be right out!" I yelled back. I cursed the fact that she was a morning person as I took one last look at myself in the mirror next to my closet and turned on my heel. She handed me a small shoulder bag in the doorway.

"Everything you'll need is in there, Kay."

"Thank you, Annabeth," I replied, striding down the hall. I dreaded this day. I hated going to school. Hated it to the point where I used to fake sick just so I wouldn't have to go. And other days it _did _make me sick to go. Felicity worried for my social life. Which was non-existent outside of the house. She had forced me into going to a fair share of parties and gatherings though. Enough to teach me manners and to hide the fact that I was anti-social.

Always to keep her image in place. The vain woman.

"There she is," I heard my mother say, obviously hearing my approach. She was talking to someone. Someone that wasn't normally in the house. I rounded the corner. "Ahh. Doesn't she just look quaint, Layne?" She took my father's hand.

"Lovely," Father said, smiling at me. I gave him a stare that just screamed murder. He coughed and turned to the 6th person sitting at the table. The one that didn't belong there. The one that I dreaded seeing because I hated his bastard guts. I wanted to slap him for even showing up. For once I hoped that my emotions were showing clearly on my face, even if my parents were present. I hoped that he knew how much I hated him at that moment. "This charming young man has offered to take you to school. Isn't that nice Kay?"

I glanced back at my father, jaw clenched. "Kaydence. My name... Is Kaydence, _Father_." He looked rather uncomfortable and immediately corrected himself. I snatched a pear out of the fruit bowl and bit into it ruthlessly, pretending it was Ohtori's head. Layne winced as did Pierce. They hated mornings just because I was always so grumpy. "Yes. I suppose it is _nice_," I added after swallowing, forcing myself to grit the last word out from between my teeth. I took another bite and glanced at my watch. "We should be going, shouldn't we?" I asked with a sarcastic smile.

"Ahh. Yes," Layne muttered, shaking Ohtori's hand.

"Tate," I said. He looked up. "Sleep well?" He nodded once with a smirk, obviously amused with my distractions.

"Very," he said softly, "Though... I remember being kept up until a certain girl and her personal servant went to bed." I snorted slightly, biting viciously into the pear in my hand once more. I caught my mother sighing exasperatedly out of the corner of my eye. I smirked. I angered her to no end.

"You best be off," Felicity murmured, snapping for a butler to bring mine and Tate's coats.

"Yes, _Mother_," I replied pleasantly, slipping my arms into my jacket. "Shall we?" I asked, turning to Ohtori and Tate. Ohtori nodded once in amusement while Tate merely rolled his eyes and led the way to the front door. I kissed Layne and Felicity each on the cheek on my way past for good show.

–

Ohtori didn't say a word the entire trip. I imagined that he went along with the entire thing purely for business purposes. Selfish bastard. Tate was a 2nd year so we went our separate ways once we were in the building. Much to my distaste I had the same homeroom as Kyoya. Meaning, I had to spend an extra 3 minutes _alone _with him just walking to class. The teacher of course introduced me to the entire class, making my entire body on edge for the rest of the day as people shook hands with or touched my shoulders in welcome.

A blonde named Tamaki Suoh actually had the nerve to kiss the back of my hand and call me princess. He was Kyoya's best friend. An overly eccentric half-French student. A romanticist. Just bloody great. "I'd be honored if you would attend mine and Kyoya's club today after school, Princess Kaydence." I stared at him. As if I would. But I smiled and nodded.

"We'll see," I said softly in reply. I sat in the middle of the classroom, isolating myself from everyone. By lunch I knew what every person in the entire class of 1A was like. Purely because they touched me.

Tate and I met in the lunchroom. "I have... The worst headache on the face of the bloody planet," I muttered under my breath in English, attempting not to glare at people who passed by. Tate chuckled and bit into his sandwich. "I'm not even joking about this. How can anyone stand being around so many people? How do they _stand _shaking the hands of so many people?"

"No one has your sense, Kay, remember? They _don't _know what it's like." I let out a soft sigh before hearing a commotion from the door. I glanced behind me. The blonde idiot and his fangirls. Great. Oh and Kyoya was with them, too? Just bloody brilliant.

And they were headed our way. "Someone kill me," I moaned, covering my face with my hand and praying that they didn't notice me and Tate sitting there. Much to my dismay, Tate actually _waved_ to them. I lifted my head and punched him in the arm, giving him a look that just screamed that I wanted to kill him.

"Princess Kaydence~!" I gritted my teeth at the nickname Tamaki had given me. I was no princess. Anyone should be able to see it just by how bloody anti-social I was. Inwardly I sighed and reminded myself to be polite for the sake of Felicity and Layne. I forced a smile onto my face.

"Tamaki-san, would you and Kyoya-san like to join us?" I asked in my fluent Japanese. Tamaki glanced back at his friend before nodding enthusiastically and sitting down. Kyoya didn't look particularly pleased but put on a smile and sat down next to me anyway. I glared in his direction, bringing a smirk to his face. He knew I didn't like him. He probably had no clue why, but he knew how I felt towards him. I stabbed my salad and bit into it harshly.

"Is there a reason you don't like me?" Kyoya asked quietly with a smirk still planted on his godforsaken face. The bastard was _amused _by this. I hated his guts and he was _amused_. I realized no one else had heard him, as he had leaned in.

I quickly shot a fake-smile in his direction. "Why on _earth _would you think that I dislike you at all, Kyoya-san?" I asked pleasantly in retort. Always act pleasant and polite. Even if you can't stand the person, smile and nod. It always works. Tate glanced my way bemusedly as he chatted with Tamaki. I hated how easily he could talk to people. He instantly trusted anyone that he talked to. I wasn't so easy to trust. If they wanted my trust they had to earn it. Like Tate had learned when he had first met me.

"Please, Kaydence-san. I'm practiced enough to tell when someone flashes fake smiles for the sake of appearance," he snorted and pushed his glasses up his nose. I let my smile fall.

"Well aren't you just a bloody mastermind," I sneered, taking another angry bite of my salad. "What's just club of yours anyway?" I added, waving my fork around.

"If you want to know, you'll have to show up," he replied, glasses flashing. I locked my jaw in place and refrained from swearing. The bell rang ominously, signaling us to go back to class. "Third Music Room, after school."

–

As soon as I opened the door I regretted it. Bright light assaulted my eyes. Once the spots faded I stared at the six boys, five standing, one sitting. "Oh. Hell no. I'm out of here," I muttered, grabbing Tate's arm and dragging him away from the door. Tamaki had already spotted me.

"Princess Kaydence~!"

I winced visibly and turned around, feeling my face darken as he started rambling about the club and how welcome I was. He led me to a couch against my will. Tate stood back, looking way too amused about this entire ordeal. "Now, which type would you prefer?"

"_Type_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and forcing myself not to smack him. What the hell was this place? Who asked for a _type _of anything without mentioning what the type was for? "What _type_?"

"_Men _type," he clarified. I stared at him with a look of utter repulsion. "There's the Wild type, Lolishota type, Devil type, Cool type, and of course," he paused for dramatic effect, "Myself. The Prince type, to make you my Princess." He had grown entirely too close for comfort.

"How about... No," I stated, glaring at him. "I'd rather just go home, if you please." I stood, knocking him over from where he was squatting in front of me in the process. "If you'll excuse me. I have more important things to do than sitting around having my feelings manipulated by men who claim that they 'entertain' women."

Tamaki's face was one of pure horror. "Kyoya... She sounds like..." he trailed off, immediately fainting. I shot the boy he'd been addressing a questionable look.

"Benio," Kyoya finished dryly. "Though it's not surprising. You were meant to go to Lobelia." I rolled my eyes and continued out the door, tugging on Tate's jacket. He smirked and followed me out.

–

"I can't _stand_ them," I ranted, pacing while Tate sat on my bed, regarding me with amusement. "I absolutely can't stand them. Do you like them? I can't possibly see how anyone can like those fucking bastards." I let my tongue loose when I was angry. Well, I did when I was at home and angry. If I was out in public I somehow managed to hold my tongue.

"I dunno. I kind of like them," Tate murmured with a smirk. I stared at him like he was crazy.

"Are you a bloody _lunatic_?" I asked, voice rising. "They're utter _maniacs_! They _entertain _women! Whatever the hell _that _means! I don't even think I want to know! And shit, shaking their hands is like forcing my bloody mind to explode. I can't even begin to describe what's wrong with t–. What the fuck are you laughing about?" I cut myself off when I realized that he was practically rolling around on _my _bed, roaring with laughter.

"You... You make them sound so horrible!" he burst out, wiping his eyes. "Really. The tall one and the short blonde aren't that bad. They're in my class."

"Oh. So _you _got the sane ones?" He merely shook his head and continued laughing at me. "You aren't funny, Tate! If you aren't going to stop laughing then get the fuck out of my room! I'll find someone else to rant at."

He started to compose himself. "Alright, alright. I apologize," he said, still smiling with a hint of laughter in his eyes. "You were saying?"

"They're maniacs who manipulate women. And I refuse to be a part of their outlandish, outrageous, bastardy 'duties' as they call them," I finished, crossing my arms over my chest and plopping down next to him.

"No one asked you to, Kay."

"Shut up, Tate." I whacked him over the head with my pillow and pushed him from the room so I could sleep.

"Goodnight Kay," he said, his eyes twinkling, right before I slammed the door in his face.

–

**A/N: I couldn't stand the boredom. Thus this story was born. Though it isn't quite as fluffy. It's more suspense/mystery than romance. Though I'll work a little bit of fluff in there at times. If Koharu would be so kind as to beta/edit this one like you did for Lost and Found, I'd love you.**

**I quite enjoy writing from the perspective of an anti-social British girl. It's enthralling. **

**I love reviews. And you should remember the fuzzy happy feeling you get from getting MUF-kudos for doing such as well. So, tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. If I did Tamaki would be in kicked puppy mode a whole lot more and Kyoya would be in the spot light a lot more than he is. However, the Malronda family, Tate Shireston, and Annabeth McBrien do belong to me and I would very much like it if you don't use them without my permission. **


	2. Flying Through Time

_Like a Cloud on the Wind_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 2 – Flying Through Time_

Despite how much I wanted to avoid them, there was no way to. It was like they stalked me where ever I went. Tamaki obviously couldn't stand rejection. Over the next six months they transpired to trying to get me to come back to the club. I smartly refused and avoided them the best that I could.

It's easier said than done.

"Princess Kay! Please! You would enjoy it if you just stayed _once_," Tamaki pleaded. I stared at him. He had been bothering me about this since I had come to Japan and started at Ouran. I was sick of it. Just this once, I let my tongue loose. I let my anger show in the form of the callously harsh colorful words of my choosing.

"I am _not _a princess!" I snapped irritably. "I am not and never will be a bloody princess! I don't know how the fuck you got that delusion in your head but I'm ending it right now! I also refuse to conform to the illusion you have wrapped around every other damn girl in the school's head! And you may call yourselves Princes, but I _know _Kyoya-san's just an egoistic selfish brat that's only using you and the other members of your shitty club to create profits for himself!" I promptly turned on my heel and continued down the hall towards my next class.

Tamaki followed, much to my dismay. "But–!"

"I don't give a rat's ass!" I threw over my shoulder angrily. He continued to pester me all the way to the class that we shared. Kyoya was already sitting in a seat, awaiting our arrival. He smirked as he noticed me enter, bickering with his best friend. "For the last fucking time, Tamaki-san. _No!_"

"If you go just once, I'll never bother you again," he said quickly. I froze at that. It was tempting.

"One time? And then you'll leave me alone for good?" I was suspicious, naturally. I wasn't about to waste two hours of my life if it wasn't going to be worth it.

"Yes. Just once. But..." I knew there was a catch. There was always a catch. "If you like it you have to be the club's friend and come back. If not, you're free to leave and I'll never bother you again." I thought about it. It was certainly a good deal. It made sense. And even if I _did _like it, I could always lie to them and say that it was as horrible as I expected it to be just to get away from the egoists that made it up.

"Lemme think about it," I stated.

–

By the end of class into lunch, Tamaki was eager to hear what my reply to his proposition was. I walked down the hall, books clutched to my chest, ignoring him until he burst with anticipation. "Well, Kay?!"

"It isn't proper to call someone by their first name alone when you barely know them," I reprimanded hotly. In all honesty, I really didn't give a shit about honorifics. I was from England. They were just a bloody nuisance to me. Tamaki corrected himself anyway, obviously missing the complete sarcasm in my voice. I felt a familiar presence at my side and looked over to smile at Tate. I turned back to Tamaki, who was still waiting for my answer rather impatiently. He was like a small deprived child. "Fine. But, remember. You have to leave me alone after this."

He erupted in cheers. I licked my lips dryly, not looking forward to school ending.

–

I opened the doors to the third music room for the second time ever, once again squinting against the bright light that came from it. "Welcome Princess Kay!" Tamaki said cheerfully.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. Sure. Let's just get this over with," I muttered. I had, smartly, sent Tate home to study. He could tell Felicity and Layne where I was and then they wouldn't have to worry their pretty little heads over their only daughter's safety.

"Which type?"

"Pardon?"

"Type, Kay-san. I explained last time you were here."

Ahh, yes. The _types _of men. I felt my lips twitch. Wild didn't sound particularly pleasing. Nor did Lolishota. And I had seen the Little Devil type at work with their disgusting incestuous act. I would probably end up punching Tamaki in the face if I chose him. That left one. "Cool type, I suppose." His face lit up in a grin which placed a large knot in the pit of my stomach. Bad feeling was bad. Bad feeling was _very_ bad. He stepped aside to reveal who would be my host.

"Bloody fu–," I managed to cover my mouth before any extremely unladylike-like words escaped my mouth. It just _had _to be him. The damn unfeeling bastard was smirking too. I muttered incoherently under my breath, thinking up the worst insults and obscenities I could possibly imagine.

"Nice coverup," Kyoya mentioned, that blasted smirk ever-so present on his face.

"It's only an hour," I told myself quietly.

"Two," he retorted.

"Shut your bloody trap."

"Make me."

We were acting childish, I knew. But it was better for me to use my words to express myself then my fists. At least words never physically hurt anyone. Fists on the other hand, had. I was standing in front of him by now. "Do you _really _want to go there?" I asked him softly, eyes full of fiery anger. God, I couldn't stand this guy. He was a complete nuisance in my eyes.

"I believe, it's up to you whether you want to go there or not," he replied, laughter flitting in his eyes. I had half the mind to smack him. He was seriously getting on my last nerve. It occurred to me that he was probably _trying _to get that kind of reaction from me though so I held myself back. Tamaki had run by now, knowing that this would happen. "Shall we sit?" Kyoya asked, reverting to his business-like politeness. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and nodded, taking a seat on a nearby couch. I stayed silent, expecting him to do the talking. "You're quite anti-social, aren't you?"

"I avoid being social and talking to others when possible, yes. If Felici–Mother would just stop trying to force me into social situations there wouldn't be a problem," I retorted dryly. It wasn't any of his damn business if I was anti-social or not.

"Tea?" I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "It's not poisoned, if that's what you're wondering," he added, "I thought the British liked tea."

I made a face. "Just because I'm British, doesn't mean I like tea. It repulses me actually. Except mint and raspberry." Fuck, we were actually getting along. This wasn't part of the plan. I was supposed to hate him. I did hate him. I guess, even people who hate each other have to get along at _some _point.

"Something else you'd prefer then?"

"Coffee," I said immediately. "Coffee is my replacement for tea. One sugar, one cream." I folded my hands in my lap, watching him pour it and slip in a bit of cream and sugar. He handed me the cup and I sipped it gratefully. He watched me bemusedly. "Why do you always have a blasted smirk on your face?"

Said smirk alighted his face as soon as I mentioned it. "Criticizing character is rude, you know," he successfully avoided my question, much to my frustration. I rolled my eyes, looking past him out the window. Birds were flying overhead. It was definitely May. I fiddled with the book I still had in my lap. "Enjoy reading?"

I let myself smile a little. "Yes. I do. I'm particular to the classics though. And realistic mysteries." He nodded, seemingly agreeing with me.

"Which one's that?"

"All Unquiet Things," I murmured, fingering the pages. "Murder mystery. Sherlock Holmes is another favorite of mine." Was it just me or were we having some sort of odd bonding moment over books? Maybe Tamaki had convinced him to make sure that I had a good time so that I would come back.

"Yes. I pegged you as the murder mystery type," he stated, amusement flickering in the eyes he had hidden behind his glasses. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"What the bloody hell is _that _supposed to mean?" He merely smirked again and shook his head. "What? The mystery and psychology behind it all enthralls me, really."

"I agree," he murmured, pouring himself tea. Wait, what? Agreeing definitely didn't sit well with hating someone.

Maybe my sense had been wrong for once.

–

I ended up actually enjoying the time I had spent at the Host Club. I didn't have the heart to tell Tamaki otherwise, too. "How was it Princess Kay?" I wanted to strangle him for calling me a princess repeatedly. I was far from being one. Between having a potty mouth that rivaled a sailor's and being anti-social I was almost the exact opposite of a princess.

I let out a sigh, knowing this would happen. "It was," I paused, watching him bounce with anticipation. "It was alright, surprisingly." '_Moron,'_ I thought as he cheered and pumped the air with his fist. "Just because I was tolerant of it does not however mean that I'm coming back."

"It was part of the deal," Tamaki sang. Bloody hell. I had forgotten about that part. Kyoya hid a smirk behind his hand from where he was walking next to me. He had offered to take me home so I wouldn't have to call a limo for myself. I wanted to hit myself over the head for accepting. And also for making that stupid deal with Tamaki in the first place. Now he had license to bother me. He thought I considered him a friend now. I held my tongue, wanting to spill a thousand obscenities at the current moment.

It couldn't get any worse.

–

Despite my utter dislike for the Host Club's antics, I kept my word and returned to put up with another Hosting session with Kyoya. His lips were just twitching with amusement when he saw me enter the room. I glared at him. "I thought you said you weren't coming back," he stated with that bloody smirk of his.

"Malronda women keep their word," I retorted hotly.

"I respect that." I did a double-take. Seriously? He respected me because I kept my word? Wait... He respected me at _all_? That was news. Better to be looked at and respected as an equal than looked down upon like filth, I suppose. I snorted sarcastically.

"I wouldn't peg you as the kind of person to respect women as equals to men," I muttered.

"You think of me as prejudice?" His eyebrow rose. I mulled it over, rethinking my words. Now that I thought about it the way I had worded it hadn't exactly sounded very nice. And it did kind of accuse him of being prejudice.

"No," I paused, still thinking it over, "Well... Yes. You seem kind of like a male elitist type to me."

"Really?" He seemed rather intrigued. "That's... interesting." He fell silent for a moment or two before speaking again, "I don't think men are _always _superior to women. Just most of the time."

I scoffed. He was honestly telling a feminist that men had _any _superiority to women at anytime. The nerve of the man. Insults ran through my head, any of which I could utilize for the purposes to get my point across. I held my tongue and instead tried to get out his reasoning. "What makes you think that? Just because most of the runners of the business world are men doesn't mean that women can't do the same." Instantly the song, 'Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better' popped into my head. I mentally shook my head to get rid of it and cursed Tate and Pierce.

"I never said they couldn't," he stated slowly. "I said _most _of the time. Not all of the time. Tamaki's grandmother and Hikaru and Kaoru's mother are enough proof for me that women are competent enough to run a business well. However, look around you. How many of these girls do you think would be ambitious enough to keep up in our world?"

I stared at him, my jaw locking in place. He was impossibly infuriating. "Ambition has nothing to do with it! Anything men can do, women can. Just look at the Olympics."

"Yet the Olympics are still divided by gender," he retaliated, "Which indicates that there is still a fine margin between the abilities of males and females."

The bastard had me on that one. My mind raced to come up with another example. It came up blank. "That only pertains to sports and physical ability," I finally managed, "In many intellectual departments women have proven to surpass men many times."

"This is true," he conceded. I found myself eager for his rebuttal. I was actually _enjoying _debating with him, as infuriating a man as he was. He poured me some coffee while I assumed he was thinking up a retort. He had come up with nothing by the time he handed me the cup so I continued.

"Besides, the fact that women can perform to the standards of men, even if it is to a slightly lesser degree, just proves their worth." I sipped my coffee, looking at him expectantly over the edge of my mug for a response. By his silence I knew I had received the victory this time. A triumphant smirk overtook my normal neutral expression.

"You're quite intelligent," he murmured, pouring himself some tea. My smirk grew at the compliment. The compliment gave me an ego boost and lightened my, currently rather dark, mood. Inside, I was wondering how I had managed not to swear yet. The horrible habit had to have slipped out at some point during our heated debate.

"Thank you. You aren't bad yourself," I replied. More bonding moments. What was this? 'Get to Know Your Enemy!' week?

–

I returned to the Host Club every day that week before deciding I could slack off a bit on my promise. Tamaki surely couldn't be expecting me to come _every day_. I also hated to admit it, but I did enjoy the company that the Hosts offered the girls that came to them. They were rather enjoyable.

I also found that Tate had been right when he had said that the two classmates of his that were in the club, Morinazuka and Hanizuka (or Mori and Hunny as they liked to be called) weren't really that bad. In fact, they were my favorites out of all of them. Kyoya was my favorite to debate with but Mori and Hunny were my favorites to just hang around. They were very likable company, even if Hunny went overboard on the sweets sometimes.

For the rest of the school year, I actually made my first friends since I had befriended Tate in fifth grade. Now I was in tenth by English terms and I was making friends again. It astounded me when I stopped long enough to think about it. I even considered Kyoya a friend, even though he was a bastard and pissed me off more than he helped me most of the time. He still gave me a ride home from school on all the days that I stayed for Host Club. Which actually proved that he was a somewhat decent human being.

–

Once summer came around I was so glad to finally be away from the Host Club. They were my friends now, but they still got on my nerves. They got on them just a little too much most of the time. It made me want to murder little kittens. And I love cats.

I was supposed to go back to England and visit my grandparents and other family for the summer. However, like most of my plans, my father tended to change them at the last minute. I was eager to go see them. My grandparents were the reason that I hadn't gone nutty when I was growing up. Layne's excuse? They were too old to watch me.

I practically take care of myself anyway. Nice logic, _Father_.

By some strange oddity of our air-conditioning breaking down, I ended up at Kyoya's to escape the heat at the end of June. His parents didn't seem to mind having their neighbors over for heat-relief while we got our AC fixed. When Layne had first suggested the idea I scoffed and ignored him, not wanting to deal with the bastard who was my neighbor during my summer. The heat got to me though. I was very heat-sensitive. So, now I sat in his living room, trying to ignore him and failing for the most part.

There was something about him that had been catching my attention lately. But I couldn't put my finger on just what it was. I was rereading a Nancy Drew book for the millionth time just that summer, he was doing his summer schoolwork across the room like I should have been doing.

"Kaydence." I shh'd him quickly, getting to the good part. "Kaydence. You know it's almost July, right?" I shot him an annoyed look and shh'd him again. He rolled his eyes. "You have two months to finish three months of work, Kaydence."

I sighed and ignored him. He could bother me about my procrastination habits all he wanted. It would get him nowhere. He let out a frustrated sigh and continued working, launching us back into silence. Two minutes later I finished my chapter and placed my bookmark in place before snapping the book closed. "What were you saying?" This time he shh'd me. "Kyoya."

"Kaydence," he retorted, glancing up from his work over his glasses.

I rolled my eyes, half-smiling, half-annoyed. I wanted to get back to my bloody book, dammit! "Will you just tell me what the bloody hell you were talking about so I can go back to ignoring you?"

He took off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation. I had to smirk at my handiwork. "Have you done any of the summer work assigned to us?"

"None at all," I muttered, fingers itching to open Nancy Drew back up.

"You have two months until school starts. And we have 3 months worth of the stuff," he stated, now cleaning his glasses on a hanker-chief he seemed to have pulled out of absolutely bloody nowhere. How the fuck did he do that?

"Your point is?"

"If I were you I'd stop procrastinating and get to work." I scoffed. I knew he was right. I just didn't want to admit it. I really _should _have started my work the moment I got it. But being a procrastinator I just kept putting the stupid stuff off. And my birthday was coming up. I didn't want to do anything when I was making plans with Tate and my family for my birthday. "Your birthday coming up in 2 days isn't an excuse."

I jumped and stared at him. Blood mind reader?! "What the fuck was that? ESP?" The swear slipped out before I could stop myself. He smirked with satisfaction. "How the hell did you even know that my birthday was on July 1st anyway?"

"I have my connections," was all he said in reply before immersing himself in schoolwork once more. I watched him curiously. There seemed to be an odd expression of ease on his face. One that I imagined was with him while he slept. Like he enjoyed the work he was doing, no matter how much a complete nuisance it was. He was focused. Content on what he was doing. I knew he was ambitious. I was as well. But unlike him I had no chance to impress my father enough to inherit the family business. I was a girl. I was a woman and the Malronda family had a long line of _male _heirs. I doubted that Layne was about to change family tradition just because I impressed him with what I did.

"You asked my father didn't you?" I asked suddenly, the idea popping into my head. He glanced up but shook his head and chuckled lightly, almost evilly. I shuddered. That was just scary. He was kind of stalker-like, creeping me out.

I let out a soft sigh and pushed my book aside, conceding that he was right. I should be getting to work. Begrudgingly, I pulled out my giant math book and set it on my lap with the list of things that we had to do and a notebook to write it all down in. I noticed Kyoya smirk triumphantly. "Oh, stop it with your smirk," I snapped unhappily, taking out a pencil that I had unceremoniously chewed the eraser off of previously. My comment only made his smirk grow.

We worked in silence. I don't know how long it was before I started growing increasingly annoyed with my mathematical inability. I was ready to chuck my math book out the window before long, though. Kyoya seemed to sense my annoyance. "Having troubles?"

I scoffed. Yes, I was. But no, I wouldn't admit it. "No," I said stubbornly, "I'm doing perfectly fine. What about you?"

He shrugged. "Just ask if you need any help." I rolled my eyes and looked back down at my book. I hated math. It was my worst subject. Literature was my best subject. Literature analysis and writing. Literature in practically any language. And I didn't mind music either. I enjoyed singing well enough. And Felicity had forced me into flute lessons when I was a small child. They hadn't been too bad. I tried to focus back on my work.

At last, after staring at the bloody page for over five minutes I huffed with frustration and swallowed my pride. "Kyoya, help?"

His blasted smirk once more alighted his face. "With?"

"I hate math," I muttered, "I've hated it sense I was a bloody child." I put two fingers to my temple, rubbing them in circles. My head was starting to pound, letting me know of an impending headache. It was surely about to get worse, too, knowing Kyoya. He got up and came over to sit next to me on the couch, gently pulling the book out of my grasp and taking on a teacher-like air.

Kyoya as a teacher was a very funny image. I almost burst out laughing on the spot, but managed to snort instead. He rose an eyebrow at me but I shook my head, containing my laughter for the time being. "What exactly are you having trouble with?"

–

"Oh, so Mother thought it would be fun, did she?" I raved angrily on the night of my birthday. "She had half of the bloody mind to put this entire thing together knowing that I _hate _socializing? Why the fuck didn't you stop her?"

Layne flinched visibly as I spat my angry words at him. We were in the kitchen where the guests outside couldn't hear us. "Kaydence. Honey. It's your 16th birthday and you expected _not _to get a party?" he tried to reason.

"I don't give a shit if it's my 16th birthday! I don't and never will want a birthday party no matter which birthday it is!" God, I was so pissed at them and their shitty common sense. They should know after 16 years that I didn't like parties or socializing. And the fact that they had just gone ahead and invited the entire Host Club _plus _some of my classmates that I hardly knew and didn't really consider friends, just pissed me off more.

"Kaydence Janessa Malronda," he scolded sharply. Fuck, I'd gone over the line this time. Any time that he started using my full name I knew I was in trouble. "You will go down to that party and you will enjoy yourself. Even if you have to fake it, you will do it. I won't allow you to upset your mother!"

I huffed with frustration but nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Father," I mumbled, glaring at the floor. He patted my shoulder.

"I understand, Kay. I do. Just please, for your mother's sake." I rolled my eyes and shrugged his hand off.

"Whatever," I grumbled, stalking off back to the main hall where everyone else was. Tate grinned as soon as he saw me. I forced a smile on my face. Kyoya's face was set in it's regular smug smirk. Bastard. Tamaki's face lit up like a child's on Christmas Day when he saw me. Immediately I felt like another chorus of Happy Birthday was coming on.

I was right. "Happy birthday to you~!" Tamaki sang, rather loudly. I glared at him briefly, sending him to his corner of woe to grow mushrooms. Hunny bounced in front of me, cheering for birthday cake. I had to smile at that. Mori patted his head. The twins were whispering about something or another in a corner, pointing at me and then Kyoya rather suspiciously. _'What could they be up to?' _I shook it off, not wanting to think about it.

Several people that I didn't even know came over to greet me, putting me on edge as I shook their hands. My head was reeling by the time I was able to get to a corner where I could be by myself for a while and perhaps take a few asprin to help my headache. My mother and her bloody notions were going to get me killed one day.

Someone nudged me, causing me to jump. It was only Tate, thank God. I glared at him for scaring me half to death. He held up his hands in silent apology. I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Happy birthday," he murmured, pushing me slightly with his body.

I gave him an exasperated sigh. "Do you have any _clue _how fucking sick I am of hearing that? I'm about ready to bludgeon my mother with a baseball bat because she did this to me." He chuckled and I whacked him in the chest. "This is no laughing matter, Tate."

"I didn't say it was," he retorted, rubbing his now sore chest. "Damn, Kay. Did you have to hit me so hard? I think you broke something. Jesus."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Cry baby. You deserved it and you know it." He looked at me with a pout on his face. I rolled my eyes again and sighed. "Alright. Are you going to give me a hug or what?" A grin popped onto his face just before he picked me up and spun me around. My surprised squeak quickly subsided to a soft laughter as he put me down again. "Are you _trying _to give me a heart attack?"

"Maybe," he replied slyly, a look of pure innocence on his face that I saw through immediately. I shot a glare of resentment at him that told him exactly what I was thinking, _'Trying to kill your best friend and make it look like an accident, eh?' _This made him rub the back of his head guiltily. "Alright. I lied."

Smiling with satisfaction, I turned around and walked away from him, towards where the Host Club was talking about one thing or another. "Tamaki, I re–," Kyoya silenced himself at the sight of me approaching them. I gave him a curious look. He just stared at me. Tamaki and the twins gave him a nudge. He glared at them.

"Do I... want to know what's going on?" I asked, eyebrow raised and hands on my hips.

"Yes!" Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki all blurted at the same time Kyoya deadpanned, "No!" Again, he glared at them.

"It isn't nice to keep secrets from the birthday girl," I murmured to him. He stared at me, anger showing only to the trained eye that saw his jaw tighten. He was so much fun to annoy. He would rarely burst but instead show these little signs that hardly anyone noticed. It was so _amusing_. And at the moment I felt like I needed and deserved some amusement. "Enlighten me," I said softly, staring into his onyx eyes. He stared back into my bright green ones with pursed lips. "Well?"

He glanced at Tamaki and the other Hosts before taking my arm and gently pulling me away to another secluded part of the room. He was still glaring over my head at his friends when I cleared my throat, causing him to look back at me. "They... They're convinced that I like you," he said bluntly. My eyebrows shot to my hairline. Definitely hadn't been expecting that. He cut in before I could say anything. "I don't, Kaydence. Not like that. But those idiots over there," he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, "won't leave me alone until I ask you to dance."

I stood on my tiptoes to look over his shoulder, eyebrows still raised. "You really expect me to dance with you because of that?" He gave me an exasperated, almost begging, look. "Alright, fine. You're lucky I have a heart," I muttered.

"Honestly? I didn't know," he retorted, smirking and taking my hand. The other thing I hated about the party my _mother _had planned, was that all the background and dancing music was classical. I admit, I don't mind classical music. But considering that it was my _16__th_birthday I wasn't too keen on it being all elegant. I would have preferred if it were soft rock or something like that. Something with gentle lyrics. Classical music had absolutely no lyrics at all, which irked me.

I smiled sarcastically. "Oh, haha. You're so funny," I sneered.

"Why thank you. I pride myself on my humor quite a bit," he responded immediately, gazing down at me through the 5 or so inches of height difference between us. This was how we had managed not to be at each others throats over the past 9 months. Sarcastic retorts and good humor.

I placed my hand on his shoulder as he put his on my waist. I hated ballroom dancing. It was just plain, bloody annoying. I gritted my teeth silently and put up with it though. Only for a friend. I was only doing this for a friend. I shuffled around awkwardly, following his eased lead. As well as hating dancing, I also wasn't very good at it. "I must be the worst dancer on the planet," I mumbled when I stepped on his feet for the 10th time.

"You aren't that," he winced as I stepped on his toes again, "that bad." I rose a skeptical eyebrow at him before looking back down at me feet. "Relax. It'd be a lot easier for you if you weren't so tense." I scoffed, glaring at him. "Honestly, relax. Trust me."

I sighed softly and did as he said. Surprisingly, he was right. It was much easier for me to dance, or rather follow him without stepping on his feet. "Told you," he muttered, smirking. I glanced over to the Hosts on the wall. Tamaki looked giddy with happiness at his "matchmaking" skills. The twins were both snickering. Mori looked indifferent while Hunny bounced next to him eating a piece of my birthday cake. I shook my head.

"Why the bloody hell would they possibly think you like me like that?"

He shrugged. "It's Tamaki. The king of exaggerating and romanticism. Did you expect less?"

"But why, _you _in particular?"

He sighed. "Ask Tamaki, not me."

"Maybe it's because they think we're hiding our 'love' for each other by pretending we hate each other instead," I muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. Kyoya shook his head and stopped spinning. I gave him a quizzical look before realizing that the orchestra had paused between pieces. He bowed respectively and left me to be by myself.

No sooner had he left than Felicity wandered over and started nudging me. I could tell Layne was watching as she did so too. "You wouldn't by chance have a relationship going with Mr. Ohtori over there would you?" she asked subtly.

I rolled my eyes. "Why does _everyone _think that?" I retorted, "No. No I don't. And I doubt I ever will. The day that I ever feel anything more than subtle dislike for the man will be the day that I die."

My mother snorted and patted my shoulder. "Kaydence, Honey, just remember what you said about your husband after you're married." She smiled, looking distant. She was probably remembering something from when she had married Layne. I had no clue what it could possibly be, considering they had met for the first time two weeks before they were supposed to marry.

"Trust me, Mother," I muttered. I didn't want to be having this conversation. I didn't like Kyoya, dammit. And I'd rather die a painful, horrible, death than _ever _marry him.

"Whatever you say, Kay," she replied, leaving me be. I rolled my eyes, watching her return to Layne's side. There was no way that I was ever going to fall in love with that bastard. My sense had told me all that I needed to know about him, like it always did.

–

"Do I _really _have to start school again tomorrow?" I asked Tate. "Seriously? What happened to summer?" There was absolutely no way I was going to go to school again so soon. If I had a choice I would never return to Ouran Academy. _Maybe_ Lobelia. But not Ouran. Sure, I had the Host Club as friends. But I was still quite the outcast, even among them.

Tate nodded solemnly. He was in for even more stress than I was, being a senior. I had slightly lesser duties, being a junior. I sighed and fell back on my bed, moaning the whole way down. Why did time always move so sluggishly slow during the school year but then decide to magically speed up in summer?

One of the many mysteries of teenage years.

"Kay! You should be asleep!" Annabeth scolded, bustling into the room. "You, too, Tate! It's no good starting your senior year on less than nine hours of sleep!" Tate silently rolled his eyes, letting out an audible sigh.

"Alright. Night Kaydence," he murmured, giving me a quick hug before retreating out my bedroom door. Annabeth turned to me after he left.

"Mr. Ohtori will be here to get to you at 7 AM sharp." I groaned loudly. Why did he always insist on taking Tate and I to school? That's why we had our limousines. "Miss Kay, he's very considerate, allowing you to ride with him so you don't waste gas."

I snorted sarcastically. "Yes, he's _so _bloody considerate," I muttered, "So considerate even that he's using me to get to Father. Yeah, that's definitely considerate." Annabeth gave me a stern sort of look, making me sigh. "Alright, fine. I'll go to sleep so I'll be able to wake up for his Shadowly _Highness_." Annabeth smiled and nodded with approval before leaving me to get ready for bed.

–

I glared at Kyoya as I walked into the dining room. He was smirking, as always. "Come on. We'll be late," I grumbled, grabbing his hand and yanking on it on my way past. He allowed me to drag him, looking rather amused with my morning grumpiness. "Get that bloody smirk off your face before I smack it off, Ohtori."

Of course the threat only made his smirk widen. I shook my head and ducked down into his car. This was looking at being just the most lovely day there ever was, wasn't it? Kyoya slid in next to me and Tate after him, looking rather annoyed with someone. I wondered if Felicity or Pierce had done something to piss him off again.

"Are you going to release my hand, Kaydence?" Kyoya asked in a subtle manner. I looked down. Oh fuck. I yanked my hand away, willing my face not to turn red. He chuckled lightly while Tate glared at him. What was wrong with him? He never acted this way. Never in all my years of knowing him had he ever acted like this towards anyone.

I shook it off and turned to look out the window in silence for the remainder of the ride to school.

–

After school wasn't much better than the first day of school had been. Once again I also had the duty of going to the Host Club which was supposed to be some big return to school session where there was an announcement for some sort of event.

Kyoya had told me what it was going to be prior to the meeting of course.

A ball. A bloody school wide ball. And Tamaki had apparently seen it fitting to choose escorts for all the Hosts. Guess who got stuck with Kyoya? Yeah, that would be me. I had the urge to kill the blonde and destroy all evidence of his being. Somehow I doubted that I'd get away with it though. Even with the help of a rather enraged Kyoya.

"Tamaki, for the love of the few things that I actually care about! I _don't _like Kaydence!" Kyoya snapped as I walked into Music Room 3, first of the girls to get there.

I snorted. "Nice to know that I'm loved," I muttered, trying to keep from smirking. He just gave me a look that said not to get Tamaki started.

"But Kyo-chan and Kay-chan look so cute together!" Hunny said cheerfully, bouncing from where he was seated with a piece of chocolate cake in front of him. I twitched, my palm coming to my face. There was no _reasoning _with these people! Kyoya looked vastly annoyed and I was sure that my own annoyance was showing on my face through my indifferent sarcasm.

Though, when I thought about it, it was actually quite logical from their point of view. He gave me rides to and from school. They had no clue that we _weren't _seeing each other outside of school. I would have come to the same conclusion if I wasn't me. I sighed softly. "Hunny-sempai, Kyoya and I _don't _like each other."

"Then why," Hikaru started, triggering the Twin Double-Team that I hated so much.

"Do both of you," Kaoru continued. My jaw clenched.

"Call each other by names without honorifics?" they finished, crossing their arms over their chests as if that was going to prove their point. Again, felt my palm coming to my face.

"Oh, I don't know," I said sarcastically, "Maybe it's because I'm British and I don't give a shit."

"But Princess! Even you're too polite to disrespect Japanese culture while living in Japan!" Tamaki retaliated. Dammit, he was using that stupid nickname again.

I spluttered. "What the fuck is _that _supposed to mean?" I raged, "Are you telling me that I'm not polite all the time? Are you trying to insinuate that I'm not a _lady_?" He had backed into his corner by now and was growing mushrooms there with a cloud of gloom over his head. "I bloody thought so!" I turned to Kyoya. "There is no way that I'm going to that ball with anyone," I stated.

"Never said you had to. The blonde idiot in the corner was the one that said you did," he replied, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Though it would be better to go with you than some other idiot he chooses," he admitted, looking like he was mulling it over in his head.

I stared at him like he had lost his mind. "Are you seriously asking me out?"

"No," he started slowly, "I'm saying it would be less of an annoyance to both of us if we went together instead of with someone that we don't know well."

Well, there he had a point. Even if Tamaki didn't choose someone ridiculous for me, my mother would probably find out about it somehow and force me to go with someone of her choosing anyway. "Fine," I grumbled as a person with shaggy hair and a sweater that was about 3 sizes to big walked in. Tamaki was quick to invite (and scare) the poor person.

"And who is this lovely young man~?" he asked, flailing his arms every which way as he sailed over.

I was pretty sure that, that wasn't a guy. I glanced at Kyoya. He shook his head and turned back to his calculations. I sidled up next to him. "I'm pretty sure that's a girl," I whispered, pointing.

"She is. Haruhi Fujioka, first year scholarship student," he muttered back. "Tamaki's such an idiot." I nodded silently in agreement a crash resounded through the room. I glanced behind me at the same time Kyoya did. "Scholarship student who just broke an eight million yen vase," he added, frowning.

"I... I'll pay it back," Haruhi stuttered, looking very embarrassed and gloomy.

"What would you do, Tamaki?" Kyoya asked his best friend. I sighed and looked at the poor girl sympathetically as Tamaki replied with some stupid proverb.

"From now on, you're the Host Club's dog!" he finally broke out. My palm came to my face for the third time that day. There was no stopping the madness.

–

It took Tamaki nearly a week to figure out that Haruhi was a girl. And by that time she was introduced as a full blown Host. I decided during one of my visits to designate her to see what she was like as I had with the other Hosts when I had first made that stupid deal with Tamaki in the middle of freshman year.

Before I could even think about it though, Kyoya pulled me aside. "Kaydence, no spilling that she's a girl, got it? It's the only way she can work off her debt effectively. And I won't have you ruining the club's image just because you're smarter than that stupid blonde idiot."

I rolled my eyes. "Kyoya, spare me," I muttered, "I won't do anything to harm your precious club. And God so help me I'll flee the country if I do." I turned around to head back towards Haruhi, feeling him watching me as I did so.

She stood nervously as I approached. "Ahh, hello! Haruhi Fujioka," she murmured, shaking my hand.

"Kaydence Malronda," I replied, smirking slightly against my attempts to smother it. She was quite an interesting character. Intellectual in most study fields, completely dense when it came to feelings, and I could just tell we'd be able to get along quite well. "Figured I'd get to know you as well as the rest of the Hosts. And seeing as that shallow bastard is giving you a quota to pay off your debt, this will probably help you a great deal."

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Kaydence-san."

"Ahh. No honorifics. I'm British so I don't particularly care for them. I make Tamaki and the twins use them just to get on their nerves."

"Thank you... Kaydence," she corrected herself. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned. "What do you want?" I deadpanned, staring into Kyoya's face blankly.

"Math tutoring. I'll take you straight to my house after club, alright, Kaydence?" I glared at him. He had to mention my mathematical incompetence while I was talking to someone else, didn't he?

"Alright," I muttered dryly.

"Wouldn't hurt if we talked about the ball arrangements while we're at it," he added. Alright, now I just wanted to smack him. I didn't want to think about the coming ball. I still thought that Tamaki was the biggest idiot on the planet and I _still _wanted him dead. Seemingly sensing my killing intent, he had been avoiding me like I was the plague.

I sighed and nodded my head. "Fine. Now will you leave? I won't blow Haruhi's cover, so stop worrying your pretty little head about it," I said crossly, arms over chest. His eyes rolled visibly as he retreated back to his table.

"Are you and Kyoya-sempai...?" Haruhi let the question hang off. I immediately knew what she was trying to say and started shaking my head vigorously.

"No. God no," I said, eyes wide with horror.

"Then what was that about–?"

I cut her off again, knowing where she was headed with this entire thing. "Tamaki... Set us up. We're going along with it because it's the only damn way that he'll leave us alone otherwise."

"Ahh," she murmured. I nodded.

"We're merely friend-like enemies, really."

"That would explain why you were so harsh with him, I suppose. I'm sorry. I just assumed..."

"It's fine Haruhi." She gave a shaky laugh and poured me some coffee. I glanced over at Kyoya. He was the only host that knew I liked coffee over tea and I hadn't mentioned it to Haruhi.

Could he have possibly...?

No. That's just utter nonsense.

–

**A/N: Kudos to thearistocrat and, as always, Koharu Veddette. **

**As you can see, Kay's quite the potty mouth. But she has good reason. She's like me with that aspect. Haha. Tis what makes this story T-rated. Well, along with some of the later stuff. But you'll find out about that soon enough. Next chapter's where the main plot comes into view. Not really planning on this to be real long. **

**I'm actually reading the book she mentions. All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab. Great book. **

**You have no clue how fun it was for me to have that little men vs. women debate in my head. I could totally write a paper on this for English. **


	3. Dancing Away Into Darkness

_Like a Cloud in the Wind_

_by Meganes Ultimate Fangirl_

_Chapter 3 – Dancing Away Into Darkness_

I was not looking forward to this ball. Not at all. And my incredibly unenthusiastic nature was worrying Felicity. Any other girl I knew would be so excited that they'd piss themselves if they were in my position. Going to a ball with a hot guy... Wearing a gorgeous dress that fit... Waiting anxiously to be picked up... The works.

I was the exact opposite of that and looked at it as such.

Going to a ball with a rather handsome man... That I hated.

Wearing a beautifully handmade, special-ordered dress... That I hated.

Waiting to be picked up at the door... Impatiently hating every minute of it.

"Kaydence, for God's sake. Will you smile? You're ruining the entire image that that dress gives you!" Mother scolded. The thing I hated most was that she had set up the entire dress/hair ensemble. She was the most to blame for my discomfort. Her and that bloody idiotic blonde.

Tate was waiting to go as well. Though he would be leaving right after I did to go pick up his date–a third year named Arisa, whom he had somehow befriended and started liking without my knowledge. "No, _Mother_,I won't smile," I spat. The doorbell rang, then. "'Bout time the bloody bastard got here," I mumbled under my breath, clutching the hand purse that Felicity had attatched to my wrist by a strap. Conviently, it matched the dark green of my dress. I drew my black shawl tighter as the butler opened the door to reveal Kyoya in his suit. "Let's go," I stated, booking it for the doorway.

Layne grabbed my arm. "Not so fast. I want pictures of this night," he said, positioning me next to Kyoya and pulling out a digital camera. I gritted my teeth and attempted to smile. Kyoya's arm slipped around my waist. I resisted the urge to glare at him. He was enjoying every minute of this, I could tell. "Wonderful, Sweetheart," Father murmured, kissing my cheek, "Have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And have her home by midnight." Kyoya nodded at his instructions, turning to guide me to the awaiting limo.

"You were enjoying that weren't you?" I asked as soon as we were out of earshot.

"Every second," he replied with amusement clear in his voice.

–

There was a major commotion when we arrived together. Apparently, Kyoya was the only Host that had shown up with an escort. Which of course made everyone in the damn school think that I was his girlfriend. "That fucking git," I cursed under my breath, referring to Tamaki.

Kyoya's eye twitched as he stood at my side. "I'm going to kill him," he stated, jaw set. I believed him. Hell, I'd _help _him. The blonde bastard had set us up even when we had previously stated that we _did __not _like each other in the fashion they thought we did. I caught the glares of several girls and had to force myself to not to laugh.

Instead I let out an indignant snort. "Looks like this has stirred up a bit of hatred for me," I muttered, eyeing one particular girl who looked like she wanted to pound my face in. I rolled my eyes in her direction. "They think I'm your girlfriend. Preposterous." I wrinkled my nose up in disgust. Like I'd ever seriously date an Ohtori.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "That's a bit rude," he replied with distaste.

"But it's true. We don't like each other like that in any way," I paused, pondering for a moment. He could have been lying when he said he didn't like me. "Unless of course you were lying when you said you didn't like me."

He scoffed lightly. "An Ohtori doesn't lie. We manipulate the truth. There's a difference." I rolled my eyes at him. He was definitely hiding something. Whether or not it was his feelings for me I hadn't a clue though. Nor did I care in the slightest. "Suppose we can just go along with this entire thing," he added, "There's no way Tamaki's going to let us forget it now." I nodded, face twisting with dislike at the thought of it.

"No dancing."

"But dancing is the whole reason that this thing is taking place."

"I hate dancing."

"Not a good enough reason. C'mon." He took me by the hand and practically dragged me towards the dance floor. I squirmed and stayed firmly in place, refusing to comply. "Kaydence," he said firmly with a sigh.

"Kyoya," I retorted, pulling my hand from his grasp and crossing my arms over my chest stubbornly. There was no way in hell that I was going to dance with him again. Even if my life depended on it. I was not going to go along with Tamaki's ridiculous plan to hook up two people that hated each other. "If you comply to his plan, you make him think that it's alright for him to manipulate us."

That struck a nerve. Apparently Kyoya didn't like hearing himself and manipulate in the same sentence unless it was talking about him being the one manipulating. I could feel the eyes of half of the people in the room on me by now. And the whispers didn't escape my ears. His jaw was set in anger, his eyes cold. I sighed as tried to find the words to speak what he was feeling. He seemed at loss for words. Finally he straightened up. "You're right," he said.

I started with surprise. And here I thought it was going to be harder to convince him not to dance. "But your father has entrusted that I keep you amused tonight." That damn smirk flitted onto his face, his eyes twinkling with something between malice and amusement. Whatever it was, I didn't like it.

I spluttered. Damn Layne. Damn him to hell! "I don't give a damn what my father entrusted you with. You'll have to find some other way. I refuse to dance."

He smirked. Immediately I wished I had choosen a different wording. Now we sounded even more like a couple! Fucking hell. "Is that a request?"

I glared at him as my face heated up considerably. "That isn't what I meant and you know it!" I snapped irritably, sure that my face was red. This was ridiculous. I rarely blushed. In fact the last time I remember blushing was in 4th grade.

"Or was it?" he countered.

"You... You're such an impossible prick!" I spat, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the dance floor. His smirk turned into a triumphant grin. "Oh shut up. I hate you, is that clear? I _hate _you."

"Crystal."

–

Dancing with Kyoya wasn't as bad as it had been the first time. I found myself enjoying it actually. I had been absolutely set on being a bloody pill the entire night. But somehow Kyoya managed to coax out my better mood. I still glared at Tamaki and the twins whenever they tried to approach me though. He merely chuckled when they scurried to a corner.

They had forced Haruhi into a dress and wig for the purpose of fawning over her. I had to pity her. But she was quite beautiful all the same. Eventually, the glares from various girls stopped and the senders of the glares moved on, much to my relief.

Kyoya and I were dancing once more. "Kaydence," he said quietly, "Have you ever thought about what you're going to do after high school?"

The question caught me offguard, as did the tone of his voice. The question was rather personal and his voice was soft. He was also looking at me curiously, seemingly gauging my reaction. I paused before opening my mouth to answer, "I've thought about it, yes. But I haven't come to an actual conclusion yet. Pierce is going to inherit Father's business and I'm free to do what I please." He was still staring at me in that strange way as he twirled me around.

When I was righted once more his eyes had wondered away from me. "And you?" I asked just as softly as he had.

He was quiet, staring over at Tamaki. "I... I hope to inherit the medical business of my Father's, even though I'm the third son. Either way I'll be going to the college section of Ouran in the medical department." Damn. He was seriously ambitious. I wasn't even trying. I just assumed that Layne would choose Pierce over me because he was male.

I kept my mouth shut as he turned me once more. These sorts of things didn't need talking. He knew it was likely that he wouldn't be chosen as the successor. I didn't need to remind him of that fact. He didn't need to bother me about my future. I knew it was grim. Thus, we spun in silence. When the song that was currently playing finished, I stepped away from him and, picking up my dress, headed toward the punch bowl.

"Are you and Kyoya-sama dating?" a girl who was sitting over there asked me, eyeing me suspiciously.

She almost made me drop the cup of punch I was holding, surprising me like that. "No," I replied shortly.

"Then why did you arrive with him and why have you been dancing with him _all night_?"

Nosy little prick should learn how to keep her nose out of other people's business. "We're merely friends," I told her, trying to keep my cool, "It was Tamaki's idea that we come together. In all reality, we hate each other." I shouldn't have to explain myself to this twit. She was being a bloody nuisance.

The girl looked over at Kyoya. I did as well. A girl was asking him to dance, whom he politely turned down. "It seems that he likes you well enough to turn down _everyone else_."

I scoffed and turned away from her. She was glaring daggers in the back of my head. I could tell. Jealous fangirls. Just what I needed trailing me and calling for my head on a platter. I felt an arm slip around my waist and glanced up at the person it belonged to.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked him with annoyance. He was just making it look more like we were the couple that we weren't. He smirked down at me in amusement.

He leaned down slightly. "Saving your ass from these girls," he murmured in my ear. I frowned. Did I ask for saving? No. Did I even need it? I doubted it. Unless one of these girls attacked me out of jealousy. Which had been known to happen. However, these girls seemed way too proper to attack someone for such a petty reason.

"Yeah, sure. Not dating. Mm-hmm," the girl said as she stared at his arm around me in jealousy. I turned my head to glare at him. As if to tell him that he had just made my situation way worse than it had started.

He smiled politely. "We aren't. We're friends," he stated with a firmer tone than I had used. She eyed the arm encircling my waist doubtfully. His eyes dared her to challenge him. I had to commend him for his influential diplomacy. If that doctor thing didn't work out for him then government definitely would. I smirked as the girl backed away muttering something.

"Thanks for saving me from the sharks," I said sarcastically.

"You're quite welcome," he replied, the corners of his mouth twitching upward slightly. "Come with me. There's something we need to talk about." I nodded, eyes full of curiousity. What could he possibly want to talk about? He took me by the arm and led me out onto a balcony where we could see the garden that flourished below. "You look very beautiful tonight."

Alright. Now he just wanted something. "What do you want?" I sighed. Compliments meant he wanted something. If he wanted something from me he could have asked me inside instead of just pulling me out to talk privately. No, it had to be more serious.

He stayed silent for a moment, turning to look out at the garden. I mimicked his actions, resting my elbows on the rail and folding my hands together. I shivered slightly from the slightly cold breeze. "My father is a very interesting businessman," he started with a murmur. "And he wants me to do something that I'm sure you won't agree to." He was looking at me pointedly.

Now that could be a multitude of things. My own views rarely matched up with his and his family's. "And that would be...?" I prompted impatiently. God, I was starting to freeze. He wordlessly handed me his suit jacket. I nodded in thanks and wrapped it around my shoulders. It blocked out the breeze, keeping me warm.

"He... wants me to marry you."

My heart dropped and my stomach started churning almost painfully. Fuck no. I was never going to marry Kyoya. Some other rich girl could have the pleasure and luxury of doing that. Leave me the fuck out of it. "You're kidding."

"I'm serious," he stated, eyes completely solemn. I searched his face for any sign of this being a joke.

"Why, for the love of all things holy, would your father want you to marry _me_?" I asked incredulously. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Probably because your father's the head of a very influential company. Marrying you would bring a lot of profits to our own business."

"Fuck no," I said, face blank. "Tell your father to go to hell." My foot tapped nervously in its 1-inch heel. "I want no part in this scheme he has to get to Layne."

He smirked. "I knew it. I told him you wouldn't do it. He said that I needed to try though." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured it was worth a shot. Seeing as you hate me I wasn't too optimistic."

I stared at him. "Or is it because you actually like me?" I asked softly, eyes narrowing. There was something else that he wasn't telling me. I aimed to find out what it was. His eyes shot to mine from where they had drifted to gaze out at the garden again. "It has nothing to do with your father, does it?"

He sighed. "Kaydence. I've told you, as I've told those idiots thousands of times, that I don't like you. You're a friend and that's all you'll ever be to me." He was still holding something back. I opened my eyes a bit.

"What're you holding back?" I asked to myself before realizing I'd said it outloud on accident. I really hated it when I did that. I had meant to think it but somehow the things that I wanted to say _purely _in my head always managed to come out of my bloody mouth.

It was his turn for his eyes to narrow. "Why're you asking? I bet you're the one that likes me."

I gave him an exasperated sigh along with a look. "Yes, Kyoya. I'm madly in love with you," I stated sarcastically, managing somehow to keep a straight face. "That's why I'm asking you all these questions." He glared at my sarcasm. "Alright. Honestly, I don't like you. But I don't hate you either. You're neutral."

"When did I go from being hated to neutral?"

"Who's asking all the questions now?" I retorted. I realized that I had subconsciously moved closer to him since I was still cold despite the help that his jacket gave. He looked at me with a weird look in his eyes that I couldn't identify. "Seriously, what're you hiding? You can tell me," I murmured quietly.

He shook his head and turned around so he was leaning against the cement railing my elbows were currently propped up on. "It's nothing for you to concern yourself with."

I sighed. "Whatever you say."

Silence overtook us. Neither of us wanted to talk about anything anymore. I was afraid that I was pushing him away with my constant bothering so I left him be. "I'm going inside," he finally said after several minutes. Fuck. I had his jacket. He was probably freezing. I took it off and offered it to him but he shook his head and told me to keep it. I stared at him strangely as he pushed past me.

Just before he was out of reach I grabbed his wrist. "Wait," I said softly. He glanced back expectantly. I seriously had no clue why I'd stopped him. I just suddenly had the urge to tell him something important though. But I had nothing to say.

"Kaydence?" Why was my stomach churning even though I wasn't doing anything? I couldn't tell what was wrong with me. For the first time since I'd been in the hospital 3 years ago, I had no clue why or what I felt. "Kaydence, are you alright?" His eyes held a slight worried tone.

My breathing was heavier. My stomach was doing it's own little gymnastics tournament inside of me.

I have no clue what happened next or how it did. One second, I was staring into his eyes feeling lost as to what to say to him now that I'd stopped him from going inside. Next... Next second, I was... Kissing him.

As in my lips were touching his.

As in I was applying pressure.

I don't even know what I was doing. Or thinking for that matter. His eyes widened with absolute shock for a moment. And then... for some reason, he kissed me back. When he responded was when I realized what I was doing. I was _kissing Kyoya_. This was the guy that I claimed to hate and said I would never in my life even think of dating and here I was _kissing _him. I ripped myself away from him. He stared at me and I felt like he was staring straight through me into my soul. I refused to look at him, deciding to become very interested in my shoes instead.

He brought a hand to his mouth, still staring at me. I stubbornly kept my eyes on the ground. "Wha–?" he broke off, swallowing and clearing his throat a little before continuing, "What was that?" I didn't have an answer. I had no idea myself, in fact. So I kept my mouth shut. He grasped my shoulders and forced me to look at him. "Kay, what the hell was that?" It was the first time he had ever called me by my nickname.

My mind raced to come up with an answer. Why the hell _had _I kissed him? I looked in his eyes and blinked several times. "Hormones," I finally blurted. My excuse for everything mood related. Obscenely mad suddenly? Hormones. Want to go on a shopping spree? Hormones.

He looked at me like I was completely mad. And maybe I was. "Hormones? You just kissed me, Kay. When you kiss someone it normally means that you're attracted to them!" There was a slight tone of irritation in his voice which made me unnoticably wince. He was right though. I knew it. But what I couldn't figure out was when I had started being attracted to him.

"Or... Or I could have suddenly been overcome with hormones that made me _think _I was attracted to you, thus resulting in a kiss." I couldn't do this with him right now. My head was spinning and I had no clue what I was feeling. I normally loved arguing with Kyoya. But not right now. Not over this. "Why did you kiss back? Does that mean that you have some mutual attraction to me?" This was probably a bad move. Countering with my own questions always got me into a corner.

His silence was enough of an answer though. And I hadn't expected much of one. "Exactly," I murmured, shaking my head. I paused. "Honestly, I have no clue what just happened. I think I'm going home." He reached into his pocket for his phone but I shook my head at him. "Tisn't far. I'll walk." _And clear my head. _

He hesitated, obviously not very keen on the idea. "You're sure?" I nodded, biting my lip. He gave me one last look before I pushed past him and got back inside. I hurried through the ballroom, holding my dress up with two hands. I got out of the school without much trouble.

Walking down the street, breathing in the cool night air, gave my mind a bit of peace. I could think when he wasn't standing right there in front of me waiting for an answer. So, why had I kissed the bastard? I obviously didn't like him. Or if I did I never really realized it until now. And then there was the fact that he had kissed me back. Did that mean that he liked me? Or was it just an automatic response?

I almost stopped dead in my tracks when an epiphany hit me.

That had been my first kiss.

I had given my first kiss to _Kyoya_. _Kyoya_, of all people. I felt a wave of nausea coming. I was so stupid. So, so, bloody stupid. I was just about as stupid as all the idiots in the Host Club put together. Without Haruhi and Kyoya of course.

I was approaching a bend in the road. At the corner stood a rather bulky guy. He made me apprehensive. I didn't like the look of him, standing there ominously in the dark. I clutched my cellphone tighter, ready to push the first speed dial that I could. I passed by him and he didn't even glance at me. I let out a sigh of relief and continued walking.

But I was tense now, my heart fluttering nervously in my chest. I couldn't just walk and not worry about the dangers of walking around the city at night. And it was starting to sprinkle a little. Rain wasn't that bad. I could live with rain. And I could just imagine the look on my mother's face when I showed up at the door, dateless and soaked to the core in an expensive dress.

I was so distracted that I didn't notice a person step out of the shadows in front of me. This one was thin and his face was shadowed so I couldn't make out his features. On my way past him, he grabbed me, pulling me down an ally. I opened my mouth to scream but had a hand shoved over my mouth quickly. Something roughly the size and shape of a gun barrel was pushed into my side. "You scream, I shoot," the man croaked in my ear. He had a hold of my waist. Some other big burly guy was covering my mouth.

I nodded, face pale and hands shaky. God, I was scared to death. Never in my life had a gun been pointed at me. Not even when I caught in the middle of a bank hold-up when I was four. My mouth was uncovered briefly, lingering to make sure that I wouldn't scream. "I-I don't have any money," I whispered. This was probably a mugging. But, I really didn't have any money on me.

"We don't want your money," the bigger guy said, glaring at me. I was yanked by the arm farther down the ally, where a van was parked. Oh hell. They were kidnapping me. That was just great. My cell was still tightly clutched in my hand. Carefully and as inconspicuously as I could, I pushed the first button I could and pushed send. I resisted against being pushed into the van. But the gun was still at my side. I figured that I'd be dead faster than I could scream loud enough for anyone to hear me if I yelled.

I swallowed. Now I was definitely regretting not taking Kyoya's ride. There was muffled talking coming from my phone. I glanced down to see what number I had pushed. _9 – Kyoya Ohtori_, the phone read with a faint glowing light. He could track my phone if I managed to hide and keep it on. I attempted to stuff the phone in my bra before they noticed I had it. Unfortunately, the movement drew attention to me.

"What was that?" one demanded.

"N-Nothing," I stuttered, eyeing the gun.

"Search her," the skinny guy commanded. Two hands roughly ran themselves over the place where my phone was currently trying to save its life in my bra. He smirked. I glared at him. This was violating. I wanted to kick him in the head, even though I was scared shitless of the gun he was carrying. He fished his fingers into the top of my dress to get the phone out. The pervert was enjoying it way too much. "Alrod!" his partner snapped.

"Sorry," he mumbled, withdrawing his hands and holding my phone in his giant palm. I stared at it hopelessly as he turned it off and dismantled it, throwing the parts in a drainage grit. My heart died in my chest. That was the only way Kyoya was going to be able to track me. And now it was gone. "Should we knock her out?"

The smaller seemed to think about that for a moment before nodding and pulling out a syringe. Alrod handed his gun to his comrade, taking out a hankerchief and tying it around my head, successfully gagging me. I thrashed as he took the rope and attempted to tie my hands. I heard the click of a bullet dropping into place and found the barrel of the handgun pointed at my head. "Stop moving," the wielder commanded. I froze immediately, not particularly wanting to die today.

They tied my hands together with the rope and pushed me back into the van. I squeaked with pain as I landed on my ankle at an odd angle. They exchanged the gun again, the skinny one wielding the syringe while Alrod held the gun on my head. I closed my eyes and stayed as still as possible. A needle was shoved unceremoniously up my arm. I felt the drug flow into my bloodstream.

It did it's work though. I was already feeling drowsy.

They child-locked and closed the backdoor, locking me inside. There was a barrier between the back and the front with only a small window for them to see me and for me to see them. Pretty soon my captors pulled themselves into the front seat and started the engine.

How had I gotten myself into this mess? My head was spinning so I laid my head back. Dark spots took over my vision. Whatever they had shot me up with was working really well.

_'Someone please find me,'_ I prayed as I passed out.

– _Kyoya –_

I frowned at my cellphone as it vibrated furiously. "_Kaydence Malronda_," the caller ID read. What on earth could _she _want? Sighing, I flipped it open. "What d'you want Kaydence?"

All that I got was background noise and what sounded like her trying to stuff her phone into her pocket. Thinking she pocket-dialed me, I was about to hang up when I heard a voice speaking. And it was male. _"What was that?" _

"_N-Nothing." _She sounded like she was scared to death. Kaydence rarely stuttered unless she was scared or nervous, that much I knew. A shiver ran down my spine. What the hell was happening to her?

"_Search her," _the male voice said, his voice icy. More background noise. _"Alrod!" _the guy snapped impatiently. So the other guy's name was Alrod. That may be useful information if she had been kidnapped.

"_Sorry." _The other guy's voice was deeper but just as icy, even when he was apologetic. Now I was almost positive that she had been kidnapped. Something clunked and I assumed it was the guy's fingers grabbing Kaydence's phone. Soon after the line went dead. My hand dropped to my side, still holding my cellphone. Kaydence had been _kidnapped_. I didn't know what they wanted, or even if they didn't just want to rape and kill her. I should have forced her to take the limo home.

I shook my head and pulled myself together. No regretting what had already passed. What did I know?

I knew Kaydence had been kidnapped by two men, one of which went by the name of Alrod. By the sound of Alrod's voice he was probably bigger, but I couldn't be certain. I had absolutely no idea where they were. I could probably track her phone but chances were it had been dismantled by now. _However_, I could still track her phone to the place where it had been left. Whoever those men had been, Kaydence had sounded scared out of her mind of them. That wasn't normal for her, which made me think that one or both of them had a weapon of some sort. A gun or a knife.

"Something wrong Kyoya?" Tamaki asked, coming up next to me. Haruhi was with him

I hesitated, not sure if I should tell them. It would probably cause a huge commotion, knowing my best friend. "No," I replied shortly, slipping my cellphone into my pocket.

"Where'd Kaydence go, Kyoya-sempai?" Haruhi asked, looking slightly worried.

"She went home." Technically I wasn't lying. She had gone home. I just failed to mention that she had walked and gotten herself kidnapped in the process. Haruhi narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Are you _sure_?" she asked.

I sighed. "Yes, Haruhi. I'm sure." She didn't look particularly convinced. I was tempted to tell her. Kaydence and her had actually become rather close over the last week. She would probably know something was wrong when she didn't show up for school on Monday. I decided against it. I would have to make sure that Kaydence had been kidnapped for sure before I told anyone.

A thought struck me suddenly. Her parents were going to be pissed at me when they figured out that their only daughter was missing. I had to tell _them _right away. I glanced at my watch. _11:30. _I may as well show up now and explain myself. Her father had instructed that she be home by midnight. "I think, I'll head home," I muttered, turning and striding out of the ballroom before anyone could protest. I called Tachibana out to the front, mind stirring up plans for finding Kaydence. "Malronda's place," I commanded as I stepped in. He nodded and put the car in drive.

I dreaded arriving.

–

"Ahh. Kyoya, I was wondering when you were going to get back," Layne Malronda commented from the living room, looking back to the front door. I nodded once, unsure how to tell him that his daughter was missing. He noticed that she wasn't there. "But, where's Kaydence?"

I coughed. I wanted to tell him that she was right behind me. Unfortunately, I was obligated to tell him the truth. "She's... Missing."

Felicity stared at me, eyes glaring dangerously. "What?" she asked.

"Kaydence... Is missing."

"What do you mean?" Pierce asked, interrupting both his parents outraged comments before they could voice them.

I breathed in deeply once. "She got... upset and decided to walk home."

"So where is she? Surely she must have called." Pierce was the only calm one of all the Malrondas currently, so I spoke directly to him, trying to ignore Layne and Felicity's worried and furious looks.

I swallowed. My throat felt tight. "She did call. But it wasn't to talk. I believe she's been kidnapped," I murmured, staring her brother right in the eye. Now he looked angry and just a bit worried. "I should have made her take the limo. It's my fault. I apologize." I bowed once while I thought of what else to say. "I'll find her. I promise."

"You better," Layne growled, "Or you don't want to even know what the bloody consquences will be."

I really didn't want to. The Malrondas were just about as powerful of a family as the Ohtoris were and I honestly didn't want a war between the two of us either. It wouldn't be pretty and it would get us no where when it came to finding out where Kaydence had been taken.

I swore to myself that I would find her. Both to stop a rift between our families and because she needed finding. She wouldn't be able to free herself.

I _had _to find her.

–

**A/N: Kudos to (woah what a list) Kiriyu-chan, thearistocrat, KageNoNeko, TwilightFever-FutureCullen, and Koharu Veddette! Rack up those MUF-Kudos! **

**Gonna be a lot of switching between Kyoya and Kaydence's views from now on. I'll make sure to mark where there's a change. **


	4. The Ass Duo & Searching for Nothing

_Like a Cloud in the Wind _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 4 – The Ass Duo/Searching for Nothing_

– _Kaydence – _

I had absolutely no idea how long I was asleep or where I was when I woke up. I just knew that my arm and ankle were throbbing and it was really dark. My hands were still tied together, restricting my movement greatly. My legs were folded underneath me, making my ankle hurt even more. Painfully and with much difficulty, I managed to pull the injured one out from under me. I winced as I lifted it tenderly off the ground. It was flopping to the side in a way that I didn't think was very good.

Suddenly, lights were on. I blinked and attempted to hide my eyes in my shoulder as they watered. Whoever the bastard was that had just blinded me, I was going to kick his ass. When I looked up though, it was Alrod, the brute. I was about to open my mouth to talk before I realized that I was still gagged. "Sleeping beauty's finally awake," he sneered softly. I glared at him apprehensively. He lifted his coat, revealing the gun hooked on his belt. "I'd be careful where you're aiming those eyes of yours."

I averted my eyes, heart beating wildly. I got the feeling in my stomach that if these guys didn't get what they wanted then I'd be killed. And God only knew how much of a ransom they would ask Layne for.

Alrod strode forward and I flinched involuntarily as he knelt down and let my gag loose. "When my father finds me you'll be sorry you ever did this," I spat angrily. Kidnap me, would they?

"Arthur!" Alrod called, "I think she needs a wee bit more of that anesthetic!" I groaned.

"What do you want from me?" I asked wearily.

"Not much," he admitted, "Just over half of your family's fortune." He was smirking in a way that reminded me of Kyoya. I winced, remembering how I had kissed him at the ball without thinking. I hoped that he put aside his frustration with my lack of explanation long enough to find out where I was. "Won't matter if they give it to us or not though. Boss will probably just have you killed anyway."

A chill ran down my spine. So these weren't my main captors. They were cronies to whoever this 'Boss' guy was. "Who do you work for?" I demanded, "The Jasonates? Palens?" My mind flew with a list of names of family enemies. It could be any of them.

Alrod frowned as Arthur came into view. "That is none of your business, little lady," he said coolly. He was carrying a syringe. I tried to kick out at it. I hated needles with a burning passion. Alrod immediately had his gun trained on me. "Just stay still and I promise this won't hurt a bit," Arthur murmured in what I guessed was supposed to be a soothing voice. It sounded more demented than soothing to me though. I shook my head and struggled more. Alrod removed the safety. "Or we could, y'know, kill you now." He grinned wickedly.

"What the hell is that stuff?" I asked, eying the syringe.

"Just a bit of anesthetic to sooth your muscles. You need to be relaxed when Boss comes to see you," he replied softly. I didn't like the way he looked at me. Nor the way Alrod did. He stuck the needle in my arm and I once again felt the flow of a liquid drug flow through me.

It worked faster this time. "Muscle soother... my ass. What bullshit," I mumbled, head and eyes both drooping quickly.

– _Kyoya – _

As soon as I made it home I pulled out my computer and started hacking into various systems to find where on earth Kaydence's phone had called from. Soon I found it. An alleyway between 7th and 9th, just off the route she would have taken to get home. I called up the chief of secret police and told him to head there straight away and search for clues. I would go over there after I woke up tomorrow when it wasn't dark.

Whoever captured Kaydence had to have known she was from an influential family. They would probably be sending a ransom note to the Malrondas soon. The same thing could have easily happened to me if I tried to walk home alone.

I searched for people named Alrod in Japan and came up with about 50 results. This was going to be a very long night. Any of these men could be the Alrod that had kidnapped Kay. I frowned. These people were probably professionals hired by someone. Professionals normally had a criminal record.

I added this to the search. Instantly my search narrowed to 27.

So my night was going to be slightly less long. Any of them could still be the one. I clicked the first one.

_Entry 1_

_Name: Alrod Mayura _

_Age: 57 _

_DOB: October 22nd, 1953_

_Marital Status: Married with 2 daughters_

_Charged with: 1st degree murder of his brother, Masu, on April 6th, 2001_

_Sentence: 20 years in prison_

_Currently: In prison_

So he was out. He was still in prison. I kept going through the list. When I had gone through them all it was nearly 4 in the morning and only three of them seemed logical. The rest were either in prison or dead.

_Entry 9_

_Name: Alrod Suka _

_Age: 43_

_DOB: September 10th, 1967_

_Marital Status: Divorced, no children_

_Charged with: Minor kidnapping on November 10th, 2002_

_Sentence: 6 years in prison_

_Currently: Free_

_Entry 17 _

_Name: Alrod Takari _

_Age: 61_

_DOB: May 4th, 1949_

_Marital Status: Unmarried _

_Charged with: Grand-Theft Auto on August 29th, 1994_

_Sentence: 15 years in prison, 8 with good behavior_

_Currently: On parole _

_Entry 24_

_Name: Alrod Smires _

_Age: 34_

_DOB: January 29th, 1976_

_Marital Status: Unmarried_

_Charged with: Minor theft on January 11th 1996; Kidnapping on December 21st 1998 along with his brother Arthur Smires; Carrying a concealed weapon on March 17th, 2006_

_Sentence: Theft – 6 months community service; Kidnapping – 7 years in prison; Weapon – 3 years in prison_

_Currently: Free_

Something in my gut just told me that the Smires guy was my man. The guy on the phone hadn't sounded that old. Plus he had quite the record. It also seemed unlikely that anyone on parole would kidnap someone. I took my glasses off and pinched the bridge of my nose before pushing the heels of my palms against my eyes.

I wouldn't find Kaydence being sleep-deprived. Definitely time to sleep. Reluctantly I closed my computer and set it on my bedside table. I was pleased with my progress so far, though I was still worried that I wouldn't find her before her perpetrators killed her. And it was likely that they might do it out of anger or annoyance, knowing her mouth.

I rubbed my temples with two fingers. The blonde idiot king would probably try to wake me up at some early hour. Meaning, I really needed to go to sleep. I laid my glasses on top of my laptop and turned off the light, sliding down between the sheets.

Sleep came quickly. Thank Kami.

– _Kaydence –_

I stared around at my surroundings. I seemed to be in a storage room of some sort. There were no windows, just a door on the opposite side of the room and a whole ton of florescent lighting. Shelves lined the walls. Too bad they were empty. The lights flickered occasionally, making it a very eery place.

My head was spinning. I wasn't sure if it was the aftereffects of the goddamned anesthetic they'd given me or if it was something else but it hurt. Next time I was visited, I promised myself I would keep my bloody mouth shut. I didn't want or need to go back asleep again. Those two were such pains in the ass.

Who the hell could their boss be, though?

Again my mind was running through a list of families that were enemies of my own. Jasonates, Palens, Usaris, Marcals. None of them seemed to fit. They all hated my father, but none of them would go so far as to kidnap his daughter. It was beneath them. They weren't short on money. And they most certainly didn't ask for my father to give up his business. They had absolutely no motive for capturing me in this fashion.

I sighed as my stomach started grumbling. I wondered if they were ever going to feed me. Maybe they would just starve me to death.

That would prove to be an interesting addition to the lawsuit my father was sure to reap on those that had done this. Layne knew all the best lawyers personally. Not because he needed them often, but because then he could use them _if _he ever required their service.

They both must be worried sick. Pierce too. And Tate. I was worried I wouldn't see them ever again. I trusted Kyoya to find me, but that trusting hope turned to pure doubt at a certain point. There was going to be a limit. I'd remain hopeful until there was only a small chance that he'd find me. As soon as my hope was extinguished I could give up. Surrender to whatever fate had in store for me. I honestly didn't want it to reach that point though.

I wanted to be free and I wanted to live. Those were my goals right now. Stay alive and try to free myself. I'd be happy if I could accomplish the first one, but both would be nice.

The Ass Duo showed up while I was sitting there contemplating how the hell I was going to get myself out of this mess. If I could somehow free my hands I was sure that I could sneak out of the door to get my bearings at least if not to escape. I could be anywhere from an old house in the middle of nowhere to the basement of a busy warehouse in plain sight and, if these guys were as professional as I thought they were, no one would know that I was there.

"Well, isn't someone uncharacteristically quiet?" Arthur smirked, standing in the doorway. Alrod nodded in agreement next to him.

"Think she's ready to see Boss?"

"I dunno. I think she could use a little bit more sleep. Look at those horrid bags under her eyes. Poor thing's sleep deprived." I glared purposely at his shoes, keeping my lips pursed so I wouldn't speak out. I was so hungry that I was actually borderline to being nauseous. I did _not _need more sleep. I needed food. As if to make it's point my stomach decided to make a loud grumbling noise, then. "Or... We could get her some food, but I think she needs sleep more."

I groaned audibly as he advanced on me with a syringe again. "No more sleep," I moaned softly. Honestly, I didn't care if they starved me. I just didn't want to go to sleep again. That goddamned drug seriously messed with my brain.

"She speaks," Arthur mused. He was so disgustingly twisted. Alrod too. I hated them. I hated the entire situation. And I hated the fact that I couldn't figure out who the hell had hired them. He backed off while his comrade slid a tray of food towards me. I frowned at it, obviously unable to eat it with my hands tied behind my back. "Have fun trying to eat." They left in a flurry of Arthur's cackling.

I was so pissed now. The bastards didn't even have the decency to untie me so I could eat. I stared down at the plate. Bread – probably stale, cheese – that actually had quite a bit of mold on it, grapes – mostly smashed and probably sour, and a plastic jug of water. The standard prisoner meal with the added bonus of sour grapes. Joy.

I was very frustrated. Now not only was I hungry and sore. But I couldn't cure my hunger due to my hands being tied. And I meant that very literally. Not just in the metaphorical sense. I would lean over and just bite the stuff directly if it weren't for the fact that I wasn't that flexible. I wished I had Tate's flexibility at that moment. It would have been insanely nice.

Instead I tried to lay down on my stomach, cringing in pain as my ankle rolled around uncomfortably. When I had finally maneuvered it I couldn't reach the bread. I sighed with frustration. This just wasn't funny. Bloody bastards.

I pulled myself back up, causing myself more pain in the process. So I could just sit here and pretend I was eating. That was alright with me. As long as they stayed away from me with that damn syringe. The anesthetic scared the crap out of me almost as much as their damn guns. I had no clue what it was. It could be heroin they were shooting me up with for all I knew. Or cocaine. Though I would probably get high off of those, not pass out.

The Ass Duo returned, both of them snickering. "Having troubles?" I glared up at them in reply. Arthur sighed. "Untie her so she can eat, Alrod." The larger man nodded and pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket, kneeling down next to me.

He cut the rope. But he also sliced my fingers a good one. And the knife was slightly rusty to add to the pain. "Jesus fucking Christ," I swore, holding my cut thumb, forefinger, and middle finger. It was deep. Deep and had flecks of rust in it that would probably get them majorly infected. Bloody fucking hell. Not to mention it hurt like a bitch. And it was bleeding pretty damn badly.

Alrod was smirking at his work. Arthur was being a masochist and just drinking in my pain. I hated them both so much. Blood dripped onto the green dress I was still wearing. Felicity wouldn't be happy about that. Though, I hoped she'd be more concerned with the fact that it was _my _blood than the stupid dress. I squeezed it and winced, biting my lip to keep from making any noise.

"We'll be back in 10 minutes so eat quickly," Arthur said, turning on his heel and leaving with his partner following behind him. I could use this time to eat. Or I could use it to try and get out of here. I could hear their voices outside the door though, so I figured it would be a bad idea to try to escape.

My hand was still bleeding. Felicity would hate me for this later. But it was necessary. I took the hem of my dress in my hands and carefully tore off the bottom. I ripped the piece I had into thirds and wrapped them around each finger, wincing as I tied them off with quite a bit of difficulty. The smooth silky fabric of the dress probably wasn't the best thing to use for a bandage but it would have to do this time.

I picked up the bread gingerly and took a small bite. I was right. It was staler than anything I'd ever had in my life. So stale I was surprised that there wasn't a single bit of mold on it. I ignored the cheese completely since it was basically just a block of disgusting green fuzz. Most people would say that cheese was just mold anyway but honestly. Milk mold doesn't hurt you. The mold that then proceeded to grow on that milk mold could. Not to mention I wasn't too keen on the idea of sticking a fuzzy wad of crap in my mouth that the taste of would probably linger in my mouth for days to come.

The grapes weren't that bad. They were smashed but they weren't as sour as I thought they would be. At least they were edible. And they weren't so horribly spoiled that I would get tipsy off of them. Still, I was careful with how much of it that I consumed, just in case. The water was murky and didn't look particularly clean or healthy. I drank as little of that as well. Just enough to sate my thirst and then the rest I left in the jug.

I finished off the bread as the Ass Duo came back in to check on me, carrying more rope. I groaned as they approached me and yanked my hands behind my back again. My wrists twisted painfully, causing me to squeak. Once I was tightly bound they snickered and left me be. I glared after them.

Layne and Felicity would have their heads on platters when (or if) I ever got out of here.

– _Kyoya – _

As promised, I woke up the next morning (or afternoon rather) after actually being able to sleep in for once and headed straight to where Kaydence's phone had last sent a signal. The secret police chief had failed to find anything, which probably meant he was slacking. It was a dirty alleyway. Trash strewn everywhere, rats running around. Even a little bit a blood was splattered on the walls from past muggings. The area had been corded off so it was relatively undisturbed when I got there.

I started looking around. Any clue that could tell me what happened or who took Kaydence would be useful. There was a large oil stain at the end of the alley which could be from a leaky car or van, most likely the one that carried her away.

As hard as I looked I couldn't find her phone, or even a part of it. Which meant they either took it with them or disposed of it elsewhere. There was no proof that she had actually been here except for her cell's last signal.

Just as I was stepping back over the tape to head back to the inconspicuous car I had had drop me, I stepped on something that cracked loudly and looked down. I expected a plastic container or something a long the lines of that. But it wasn't. It was a hair clip. A simple large black hair clip. The very same accessory that Kaydence had used to keep her hair out of her eyes the night before. I picked up the cracked and broken pieces of it as best as I could and slid them into a plastic bag that I had brought along.

She had often used this clip for her hair. It was her favorite one. She was probably going to be quite mad when she found out what had happened to it.

So, she had been here. That was reassuring, but it got me nowhere closer to finding where she was now.

– _Kaydence – _

I realized after countless minutes of being annoyed with the hair hanging in my face that I had lost my favorite hair clip somehow. Most likely it was when I had been captured. I had been so distracted by the gun in Alrod and Arthur's hands that I hadn't noticed it fall out of my hair. Now I got to put up with the annoyance of my hair in my face. Bloody hell. As if the situation wasn't bothersome enough as it was.

And I was bored as hell, too. Did they give _nothing _to prisoners for entertainment? Not even a book? I could think of no way that I could possibly use a book to escape from them, save for smacking them unconscious with it when they checked on me, but I doubted I'd be able to do that even.

I groaned softly to myself and bumped my head against the wall I was propped up against with my legs out in front of me. I wondered how long I had been sleeping. Surely it couldn't have been that long. But that drug was pretty damn strong, too.

The next time the Ass Duo came by seemed like eons later. I glared at them as they opened the door. "When are you just going to call Father demanding my ransom?" I asked hotly, fed up with being kept in the dark and bored out of my mind.

Arthur's eyebrows shot up. "What makes you think we want a ransom?" he retorted.

"No one ever kidnaps a rich kid unless they want money." _'Or their head taken off and their ass plopped in jail for the rest of their life.' _"You two don't seem any different." I hadn't ever been kidnapped before. But I'd seen CSI and Law and Order. Not to mention there were times back in England that some of my classmates had been snagged and held for ransom. Some of them made it out alive when their parents paid it, others were killed even though they were paid. It all depended on the captors. I couldn't tell what kind of captors mine were. They were tricky ones. But at least they fed me.

Arthur smirked. "Oh, but my dear Kaydence, what would you do if we told you that you were _never _going home? That you were doomed to live here for the rest of your life just because we see that you deserve it for all you've done?"

I stared at them. I had always kept to myself. What the hell had I done that they saw fit that I basically live a prison for the rest of my life? But, it wouldn't be them that saw it fit. It had to be their boss. Which meant it was _definitely _someone I knew. "What did I do to deserve this?" I asked. I kept my voice controlled and quiet. I didn't want to anger them.

"I think we'll let Boss tell you that when you see him," he responded with a twinkle in his eye. "Come along, brother." He turned on his heel before I could react to him calling Alrod his brother. _Brothers? _They were _brothers_? They sure as hell didn't look like it. Well then, it seemed Arthur was the older, more devious one. Alrod rarely even talked. Maybe he was shy. Or maybe he was afraid of the older. If it was fear keeping him quiet I might be able to use that to my advantage to get out of here.

But, for now. I was alone.

I curled up in a ball and prayed for the millionth time in as many hours that Kyoya – or _anyone _for that matter – would find me. And although I was sick of sleeping, I drifted off into a world of dreams and nightmares where I was free.

– _Kyoya – _

I started taking notes on a little notepad. I felt like a child playing detective. I was obviously an amateur, but I was certainly intelligent enough to put clues together. Besides, do many children have their own police force to cord off areas and bring in suspects? I think not.

After school on Monday, I went about my daily schedule like normal. I didn't want to tip off the other hosts that there was anything wrong. However, they noticed when Kaydence didn't show up at school or at club. "Ne, Kyoya-sempai? D'you know where Kaydence is?" Haruhi asked innocently. I pretended like I didn't know anything.

"Not at all. Why would I?" I replied, minimizing my research screen just in case she wandered behind me and happened to see it.

The girl frowned. "I don't know. Are you sure nothing happened on Saturday?" Of course something had happened. She had been kidnapped. "Between the two of you, I mean," she added in clarification. I felt my face darken. Yes, something had. She had kissed me if I remembered correctly. However, to my knowledge, no one knew about that except for Kaydence and I. Her excuse had been flimsy. Hormones. _Hormones. _That was absolute bull. She was clearly attracted to me in one way or another. The feeling wasn't mutual. She was a friend. Nothing more.

"Nothing happened, Haruhi. She was merely tired and needed some air. So, she walked home," I stated firmly. She didn't look particularly convinced.

"Then where on earth is she?" she murmured softly. I shrugged and shook my head as Tamaki started wooing some poor guy that had wandered in. Haruhi turned around. "Koharu?"

"Ahh! Scholarship student Yoshiiva, Koharu!" Tamaki exclaimed. "I didn't know you were gay!" I resisted the urge to smack myself on the forehead. That idiot. Koharu was obviously a girl. Of course, he thought that every person who walked in the door that wore boys clothes was in fact a boy. I rolled my eyes at him. Of course she came right up to _me _and ignored Tamaki completely.

"Any way that I can help Haruhi work off his debt?" she asked bluntly. I was slightly surprised. This was an interesting development on the issue of Haruhi's debt. I forced myself to keep my surprise hidden.

"Perhaps..." I trailed off as my computer made a beeping noise. The search it had been conducting was finished. I pretended that it wasn't important while on the inside my stomach was churning. "You could be a host with him. But we'd need to test you to make sure that you're Host standard." I pushed my glasses up my nose. Koharu nodded.

"Done," she said easily. I smirked. Very interesting indeed.

–

Koharu caught up with me after club. She didn't speak though, just walked silently next to me. "Are you going to say something?" I asked, glancing at her but still facing forward. I still hadn't gotten the chance to check my computer and I was eager to get home so I could.

She shrugged. "Nope. Seems you and Haruhi are the only ones that have figured out I'm a girl though. I suppose that means you aren't a complete idiot. Therefore I think it's safe to hang around you." Her blue eyes were twinkling with amusement.

I smirked and nodded. "That would be a good conclusion," I said. She reminded me a bit of Kaydence. We had reached my car by now. "Do you need a ride home?"

"Oh, no. I walk home everyday," she said with a smile. Something in my stomach lurched at the mention of her walking. Reminded me that if I had insisted Kaydence taking the limo home she wouldn't have been kidnapped. Though, there was little chance that this girl would also be kidnapped. She had no rich lineage. I cast a glance at the sky. Dark clouds were rolling in.

"You're sure? Looks as if it's about to rain."

She bit her lip and also looked at the sky. She hesitated before nodding. "Alright." I opened the door and allowed her to slide in the back seat before I followed her. I looked at her expectantly. "Ahh. Straight," she murmured. I gestured to Tachibana to follow her directions.

We came to a stop in front of her apartment complex. Sure enough, it had started raining by the time we got there too. "Thanks Kyoya!" she said cheerfully, pushing the door open. I nodded. "See you tomorrow!"

My phone went off as I watched her run up the stairs and disappear through a door. I checked the caller ID and my blood ran cold. I flipped it open as the car started moving once more. "Hello?"

"Have you located my daughter?" Layne Malronda's voice spoke clearly.

I sighed inwardly. "You can't expect me to find her that quickly. It's been less than 24 hours. I'm working on it. Trust me."

His voice held an edge of worry. "There hasn't been a ransom note or a call of any sort," he said softly.

"Her kidnappers might be holding her for a while to make you more desperate to get her back," I suggested logically. "Desperation would make you more willing to pay an outrageous amount of money to have her returned home."

Layne seemed to consider this for a moment before sighing. "I would like it if you would come over for dinner tonight so we can discuss your findings."

I swallowed, thinking. He was her father. I had to share it with him. Besides, he may be an important asset in the investigation. "I'll be over at seven," I murmured, promptly snapping my phone shut. I opened my bag and slid my laptop out of it. It was still whirring softly. I popped the top open and reopened the window I had previously minimized back in the music room. It popped open with the pictures of two men and a map.

The first photo was of Alrod Smires and the caption was the police report I had found early on Sunday morning. The map, of all the places he had been arrested along with where he had last been seen.

The second photo was the mug shots of a slender man in his late 30s or early 40s. Under it was a caption in the form of a police report:

_Name: Arthur Smires _

_Age: 39 _

_DOB: December 26th, 1971_

_Marital Status: Widower_

_Charged with: Kidnapping on December 21st 1998; The first degree murder of his wife, Angela Smires, on January 1st 1999 after evidence from the kidnapping led officials to believe he killed Angela out of rage._

_Sentence: 2 years in prison with a plea bargain for kidnapping; 30 years in prison for murder – no parole_

The part that caught my attention was what his current status was. It almost made my heart stop but it was also made me sure that Arthur and Alrod Smires were the men who had taken Kaydence in that alleyway.

_Currently: **Escaped convict. Considered armed and dangerous. Approach with caution. **_

A single huge dot on the map marked a place where the two of them had been seen together. That place was only three blocks from where Kaydence had been taken.

I definitely needed to find her quickly.

–

My meeting with Layne Malronda wasn't going quite the way I had hoped it would. The moment I had sat down in the living room he had started grilling me for answers. I answered his questions the best I could.

"Suspects?"

"Alrod and Arthur Smires, I'm 99 percent sure of it," I replied quietly. He didn't show any recognition of the names. "They may have been hired to kidnap and/or kill Kaydence." His face paled considerably at the mention of his daughter potentially being murdered.

"Criminal records?" he asked dryly after clearing his throat. I turned my computer and showed him what I had found once I had gotten home earlier that day. If it was possible, his face probably would have gotten paler. He swallowed. "Es-Escaped convict. Wonderful." I nodded gravely and pulled a small plastic bag out.

"I found this at the site where her cellphone's last signal came from," I murmured. The bag was the one that held the cracked, broken hair clip. His face dropped into his hands.

"Jesus. Kaydence," he breathed. I heard yelling from the front and turned.

"What do you mean she's _missing_,Pierce?!" a female voice demanded. "I just found out today that she's going to Ouran! How can she be missing?!" She and Kaydence's older brother soon came into view. I stared at the girl. "Kyoya?" she started in surprise.

"Koharu?" I echoed.

Pierce and Layne glanced between us. "You two know each other?" Layne asked softly. We nodded simultaneously.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"I could ask you that same thing," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Uncle Layne, where's Kaydence? I'm convinced that Pierce is screwing with me. She can't have gotten kidnapped. It's so unlike her." My eyes widened.

"Uncle?" I asked incredulously. "Kaydence is your cousin?" That certainly explained why Koharu reminded me of her. I could also see the resemblance in their body structure as well. If she had long brown hair and bright green eyes instead of black hair and blue eyes I could have easily taken her for Kaydence.

"Yes. Though I still don't quite understand why you're here," she muttered. I shook my head while Kaydence's father explained.

"Koharu, Kaydence was... Kidnapped. Kyoya is searching for her. Though it's mostly his fault that she's missing in the first place," he added with a glare in my direction. I sighed. Had I not already blamed myself a million times over and promised that I would find her. Koharu stared at me.

"This has got to be a joke," she murmured.

"'Fraid not," Pierce interjected bitterly. He seemed to be the only calm one of his entire family. And the only one that didn't blame me for what had happened. "She's been missing since Saturday night when she walked home. Her cell called Kyoya, giving him the means to overhear the kidnappers as well as track her phone to the place of her last signal."

Koharu look like she had been hit by a freight truck. "Then... How is it his fault?"

Layne interrupted me before I could speak. "He was her date to the ball that took place on Saturday. He was supposed to return her home safely. Instead, he allowed her to walk home." He glowered in my direction. I glared back at him.

She seemed to take in this information while staring at me, her expression blank. Then she said something that surprised me.

"I want to help."

–

**A/N: And here I thought this was going to be a relatively short chapter when I started. Boy, was I wrong. 11 pages and almost 5700 words. Yay length. **

**Koharu Yoshiiva/Veddette used with the permission of her creator, Koharu Veddette. **

**Kudos go to: thearistocrat, KageNoNeko, Illogical Human, and Koharu Veddette. And many thanks to you! **


	5. The Fun Stuff & HandsFree

_Like a Cloud in the Wind_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 5 – The Fun Stuff/Hands-Free_

– _Kyoya – _

"Absolutely not," Layne objected thoroughly. I just stared at Koharu. Her cousin was in danger and she was _wanting _to put herself in much of the same danger?

"But Uncle Lay–."

"No, buts. I won't have you disappearing too. Your father would have my head if I allowed you to go out looking for her," he replied sternly.

"I want to help!" she declared stubbornly, stomping her foot, "It's just because I'm a girl isn't it? I bet if it were Pierce, Tate, or Yuigo you'd let them! I bet Kyoya wouldn't mind the help either." She glanced at me. I nodded in agreement. And it would also be nice to have the help of someone who wouldn't be glaring at and blaming me for Kaydence's disappearance 24/7. Honestly, I blamed myself enough as it was. "See? Even he agrees."

"It's his fault she's missing in the first place," he growled in a low voice. I let out a loud sigh.

"If she wants to help and put herself in danger willingly, I say let her. It might teach her a lesson or two," I said with impatience. "And she is right. I wouldn't mind the help from someone who _doesn't _glare at me 24/7." This just earned me a glare from Layne as Felicity entered the room.

"How are things in here?" she asked, sounding slightly apprehensive. Like she sensed the tension in the room. Her hands found a place on Layne's shoulders, squeezing them lightly.

"Just fine, dearest," Layne said, staring at me with hard eyes. I stared straight back fearlessly. He looked at Koharu again. "You won't be bloody helping, Koharu."

She stomped her foot and opened her mouth to say something but Pierce beat her to the pitch. "Sitting here arguing over this isn't going to find Kaydence any faster! Dad, just let her help him. Maybe Kyoya's right and it'll teach her a lesson!"

Layne sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Even my own children are turning against me," he muttered, barely loud enough for it to be audible. "Fine," he added a little louder, "But if you get yourself taken, too, you'll have no one to blame but yourself." He pointed a finger at his niece pointedly.

"I'm home!" someone called from the front door. Tate bounded into the room a minute later. When he saw the gathering in the living room he froze. "Something wrong?"

Layne shook his head and threw his hands in the air while Felicity grilled Tate. "Where the bloody hell have you been?" she demanded. Layne excused himself and went up the strairs, probably to his bedroom.

"Uhh. Out with Arisa," he murmured, looking at her strangely.

"Kaydence is _missing _and you're getting home at all hours of the night! Good God!" She too threw her hands in the air and followed her husband. Tate glanced at Pierce.

"I came at a bad time didn't I?" he asked. I nodded while Pierce shrugged. "So... what happened, exactly?"

Koharu rolled her eyes at him. "Oh nothing, Tate. Your best friend has just been kidnapped by an escaped convict and his brother," she said scathingly, her voice laced with sarcasm. I smirked. This news didn't seem to shock him much, however. 

"But then, why did Felicity just about bite my head off?"

"She's worried, naturally," Pierce cut in, "She's more paranoid than she used to be too. I mean, honestly, she was paranoid enough before. Dad is too."

"It's only eight," Tate deadpanned. Pierce shrugged and turned on his heel to retreat up the stairs. Tate's eyes fell on me. "And what are _you _doing here?" He didn't seem very happy to see me. Though, he rarely was. He seemed to hold an undying hate for me, even before Kaydence had disappeared.

"I was just leaving," I stated smoothly, closing my laptop and pushing it back into it's bag. I pulled the bag over my shoulder and stood.

"Same," Koharu muttered. I glanced at her briefly, nodding.

"Good," Tate said rather coldly. Koharu made a face at him before taking my arm and leading me toward the front door.

"He's such a jerk," she said under her breath when we were outside. "Always has been. Dunno how Kaydence ever put up with him. Care to give me a ride again?" Her face turned into a grin that I couldn't say no to. I shrugged.

"I was just going to walk home."

"Haven't you learned anything from Kaydence's disappearance?" she scoffed lightly. "Walking home late at night is dangerous."

I rolled my eyes. "One, it's eight, which is about 4 hours earlier than it was when Kaydence was captured. Two, I live about 1000 yards that way," I replied, pointing in the direction of my house. She gapped at me for a moment before regaining her composture once more.

"I guess I'll be mooching a ride off someone else then," she muttered, looking slightly disappointed.

"I can still give you a ride. You just need to walk the 1000 yards to my house with me first." I smirked as she rolled her eyes. She was a very interesting person. More open then Kaydence, as well. Why I kept catching myself comparing her to Kaydence though, I had no clue. Maybe it was because they were cousins. But, even before I knew that little fact I had compared the two of them. I wrote it off as unimportant in my head and pushed it backwards in my mind's mental thought organizer. "I can't seem to understand how you're a commoner when your cousin's part of a very powerful and influential family from England," I said quietly. She glanced over at me, looking weary.

"Dad was adopted into Felicity's family?" she asked sheepishly. I didn't believe that for a second, but accepted it as an answer for now. I would have to look into it later when she was safely home.

I nodded with fake understanding as we lasped into silence.

– _Kaydence – _

I was woken up by kicks in the side. Starting with being very light and patient but quickly escalating to annoyed, hard ones. I glared up at whoever it was. Whoever the servant was who was _kicking _me was going to get a hard-ass bloody lecture and their job ripped away from them. It took me a moment to realize that the person I was staring up at was not, in fact, a servant of my household, but a man. A man with a slender build, dark red hair that almost looked like it was brown, and teal eyes made of ice. And he wasn't alone either. Another man was with him. This one had flaming red hair and these incredibly dark eyes. He was heavier and shorter than the first, too.

_Arthur and Alrod. The Ass Duo. _My sleepy-still-half-asleep mind supplied. Suddenly the events from earlier sprang back. I was being held captive. In storage room, God only knew where. These two bloody thugs had kidnapped me and caused me bodily harm. Kyoya was (hopefully) looking for me and I had no clue how long I had been here.

"What do you want?" I asked sleepily but angrily. Weren't they the ones that had wanted me to sleep more earlier?

"Get up," Ass Numero Uno said clearly, voice ringing with venom.

"I'd rather not, thanks," I spat back, obviously forgetting my previous promise to myself to keep my damn mouth shut. I soon found myself being yanked up by the wrists violently. I cried out as my shoulders were seemingly ripped from their sockets. I was set on my feet a moment later, gasping from the agony happening in my shoulders and wrists at that current moment. "Bloody hell," I mumbled, leaning over for a moment. They hardly let me rest before yanking me out the door and down a brightly lit hallway. I squinted, trying to see exactly where we were going. Jesus, and I had thought that the storage room's lighting had been bright. "Where the hell are you taking me?" I demanded hotly.

"You're pretty demanding for someone that could be killed any day now," Arthur retorted with an angry snort. I felt the blood drain from my face. I_ really _didn't want to die, thanks. I pretended that an invisible zipper was drawn over my mouth, locked it, and threw away the key. "That's more like it," he grumbled, sounding like he had just woken up himself. I tried concentrating on where they were taking me and what we were passing. We didn't get that far down the hall before we came to a halt in front of a door with a dirty women's bathroom sign.

Now I knew what they were doing. And I realized that I really needed to take a piss. Alrod's pocket knife cut through the rope and, again, sliced my hand. I winced when I felt the sharp edge cut into my flesh. Time to rip some clothing again.

"You have 20 minutes to take a piss and shower. We'll be standing outside the door and there aren't any windows so don't bother trying to run," Alrod muttered, sounding very much like he'd rather be _in _the bathroom with me. I shivered. The creep. I nodded wearily as a grimy t-shirt and oversized sweatpants were placed in my damaged hands with a towel on top. '_At least they keep their prisoners fresh,' _I thought sarcastically as I was shoved ungracefully through the swinging door.

I sighed and looked around. The tiled floor was old and cracked. A single shower stall was in the corner with a very thin, rather see-through curtain drawn in front of it. Next to the shower was a shelf and hook that I presumed were supposed to be for my clothes and towel, though the shelf seemed to be balanced haphazardly on cracked bases. A row of walled-in stalls were against the left wall, only one of which actually had a door still on it's hinges. The one sink's white (or at least I think it was originally white) porcelain was strained with brown and green spots. The entire bathroom had a defined layer of grim over every single surface.

To say the least, it was disgusting. And to top it off, Alrod was right. There were no windows. Wasn't that frustrating?

– _Kyoya – _

The only things that came up when I searched for _Koharu Yoshiiva _werethree old women and a cat. Definitely not a 15-year-old girl. I frowned and changed the search to _Kaydence Malronda_. Instantly two middle aged women and a picture of a 6-year-old girl appeared. I clicked on the 6-year-old and found that it was actually Kaydence's page, the picture just hadn't been updated in 10 years. There was no missing child's report and no mention of any extended family, not even grandparents. Just who her parents were, her siblings, her birthday, her weight, and her height.

My frown deepened considerably. I clicked on the link that would lead to Layne's page. The picture was also older – by about five years. The situation was the same as Kaydence's page was. Layne had no listed siblings so I clicked on Felicity, remembering what Koharu had said about being related to Kaydence through Felicity.

This is where it got weird.

Felicity had no listed parents. Just her children – plus Tate, her husband, and a brother by the name of Yamato. When Yamato came up he was listed as a Veddette. He had a ton of adopted children and a few blood-related ones but none of them went by the name of Koharu. Linked to Yamato was a woman with bright green eyes like Kaydence and black curly hair. Her name? Kyoko Yoshiiva. I guessed that she was Koharu's mother. But then that would mean that Yamato Veddette was her father. Yet, there was no record at all of Koharu even existing under either of them.

Where the hell had this girl come from? She obviously had some connection to the Malronda family but it was like her entire history had been erased, perhaps to hide something.

All I knew was that Koharu Yoshiiva wasn't who she said she was. And she was definitely no commoner. She definitely was living with her mother, though there was no written proof that Koharu Yoshiiva _or _Koharu Veddette existed.

I shook my head and pushed it aside. I had to focus on looking for Kaydence. No getting distracted by a girl faking her identity. I couldn't use my computer to search for anything else that would lead me to her location besides people. Her disappearance site hadn't come up with any evidence other than the hair clip.

All that was left to do was start bringing in people who knew the Smires brothers.

I pulled up their records again and started taking down names. This would have to wait until tomorrow, and I'd take Koharu with me.

– _Kaydence – _

I felt clean all up until the point that I put the oversized clothing on. Then I just felt disgusting. The pants were about three sizes too big for my petite form and the shirt went down to my bloody knees. I guessed that wearing the old clothes of a guy who's fat and about 5 foot 11 when you're only 5 foot 5 was a bit of a stretch.

There was a loud knock on the door while I was tying off a makeshift belt that I had ripped out of the dress I had previously been wearing and that was now just about ruined. I emerged from the bathroom feeling silly wearing these clothes. I was carrying the dress, my shawl, and Kyoya's jacket – that I had discovered, with a sick feeling in my stomach, I still had around me when I was stripping to get in the shower. "Not so much of a princess now, are you?" Arthur sneered lightly. I rolled my eyes. That stupid nickname. Where the hell did anyone get the idea that I was a princess in the first place?

They pushed me back down the hall toward the storage room where I was being held. When I glanced inside I realized that it had been cleaned out of all the metal shelves that had been in there previously. That definitely meant something. I was shoved back in unceremoniously. A tray was set on the floor with more stale bread, moldy cheese, and cloudy water before the door was slammed shut without a word.

I slid down the wall next to the door, nibbling tentatively on the bread and once again not even daring to touch the cheese that was overridden with green fuzz. This was absolute bullshit. I would probably be dying of malnutrition or something retarded by the end of the month – if I was actually held here that long. I took a swig of the water, spluttering when I found fuzz in it. Gross. Just bloody gross.

When I finished the three slices of stiff bread I sat there and hit my head repeatedly on the wall I was propped up against. The Ass Duo's voices were coming from outside.

"_How long until you think that Ohtori kid Boss was talking about will locate her?" _a deep voice that I recognized immediately as Alrod's asked.

There was a slight pause while Arthur thought about it. _"I dunno. Depends on if he's really as smart as Boss thinks he is, which I doubt." _Another pause. _"Could be anywhere from two days to fives years or more." _Alrod snickered lightly. _"But you know what Boss said. 'Soon as he gets wind that Ohtori's even close we move her and if he shows up before we can, we kill him." _

My face paled. Kyoya was putting himself in danger for this. These men were going to kill him if he got here in time. I wouldn't let that happen. Even if he did find me, he wouldn't be the one to take the bullet. He didn't deserve it. The Ass Duo was still laughing when the door opened. I was expecting to have my hands yanked behind me and tied again but they just took the tray and left in a flurry of cackling.

So that's why the room had been cleared while I was showering.

– _Kyoya – _

"Hey Kyoya!"

"Koharu," I acknowledged with a nod of my head in her direction without looking up from my furious typing. I was, once again, conducting searches. But also keeping tabs on the club's profit at the same time. Multitasking was a very useful skill.

"I was thinking that I could come over to your place after school?" she said tentatively.

"Actually, I have something else planned for us." She gave me a questioning look. "Interegation."

"Ohh. The fun stuff. Make it a date." She said date so casually I almost did a double-take. "Uhh, I mean... I'll be there?" she ended sheepishly. I waved my hand and rolled my eyes, telling her that I knew what she meant. "I'll bring a multitude of techniques as well." Her eyes glinted. Dangerous woman. She was going to get high off adrenaline at the rate she was going. Something in the back of my mind nagged at me to interegate _her _about her true identity, but I gave it a nice big shove to shut it up. Kaydence had to be their first priority.

"I was actually going to leave the interegating to my secret police and take notes," I stated with a raised eyebrow. She scoffed lightly. "Koharu, if whoever kidnapped Kaydence finds out what we're doing they could take it upon themselves to kill us. Even if you jumped on the bandwagon, precautions still need to be placed." She rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement reluctantly. "My car, after club, got it?"

"Aye, aye sir!" she saluted sarcastically, reminding me again of her incredible similarity to Kaydence.

–

"So, who's this?" Koharu whispered to me as we stood behind the one-way glass, looking into the interegation room. One of my secret police's chief interegators was drilling information out of a middle-aged woman who was about 35-years-old. This was the third interegation we had sat in on since we got out of school. I checked my watch tiredly. Almost 11 PM. We'd already been through Mrs. Smires and a family friend.

"Kiyoko Hizuna, Alrod's supposed girlfriend. She might just be his ex from the way she's been reacting though. Or she could be holding back to protect him. Either way, we'll get something," I muttered back to her.

"I told you," Kiyoko said angrily, "I broke up with the bastard because he was tried to violate my best friend." She didn't look like a very happy, or pretty, woman at the moment. And she wasn't all that beautiful to start with either.

"He never violated you?"

"No! What the hell is this all about?" she demanded. I smirked against my self-control. She had quite an issue with her temper control. Then her face shown with a kind of realization. "He hurt someone didn't he? Did he rape her? Kill her? Snap like his brother?"

The officer glanced toward the glass before replying, "I cannot withhold that information."

She glared at him. Like she was trying to figure out all the different ways she could put the chief in as much pain as possible. "Then what is your reason for holding me?"

"We aren't holding you. We merely need answers," he stated calmly. Kiyoko gave a sigh. "Now, when is the last time you were in contact with either of the Smires brothers?"

She folded her hands in front of her, bowing her head slightly. "Alrod was a nice guy before his brother corrupted him into kidnapping that girl. Before it was just him stealing to provide for himself. Just trying to get by. Soon after the kidnapping I found out he also violated Akami." She paused to shake her head and run a shaky hand through her hair. "After the kidnapping, Alrod became a different person. He started carrying weapons, doing drugs, all sorts of shit that I didn't want to be a part of. Along with violating my best friend that gave me more than enough reason to break up with him."

"So, you haven't been in contact with him since you left him?"

She shrugged. "He called countless times, trying to convince me that I needed him. He always left messages. I never returned his calls."

"And Arthur?"

She was quiet. Incredibly, suspiciously quiet. "No. I haven't talked to Arthur since 6 months before he murdered his wife."

"Did either of them ever mention hiding places? Like secret lairs or anything?"

At this she looked kind of surprised, but had an answer. "There was an old run down cabin in a campground just outside of Iwaki. Alrod used to talk about taking me away on a vacation there some day." I saw Koharu's eyes shoot to my face out of the corner of my eye. This was the first time that this question had produced any results. I let myself smirk a bit.

"Patience Koharu," I murmured, "We'll locate the cabin first. Then we can storm the place." I picked my phone out of my pocket and called the chief interegator.

"Anywhere else?" he asked, pulling out his ringing cellphone. He answered it wordlessly.

"No. That was all."

"That's enough," I said softly into the phone in my hand, "She's free to go." I snapped it shut immediately afterward and motioned to Koharu to follow me. She did while Chief dismissed Kiyoko. I paused at the door, waiting for the Chief and Miss Hizuna to get down the hall and around the corner. We couldn't take any chances. If she knew who was behind the interegation and she was working with the Smires, then she could very easily tell them. I highly doubted that she was with them though.

I slipped out of the room with Koharu on my tail, out the back entrance to the waiting car where my computer was waiting for us to find the cabin that had been mentioned. "Kyoya," she said softly.

"Yes?" I replied, looking up at her while my laptop booted up.

"What'll we do if she's dead when we get there?"

I stayed silent, unsure of the answer myself. What _would _we do? I didn't think that I wanted to know the answer to that question. "We'll figure it out," I murmured, her hand gripping my arm as I started searching. Though I was normally uncomfortable with that kind of close contact, I let her, understanding her fear. "Oh hell," I muttered as about 200 results for cabins near Iwaki showed up on the screen. "And that's just including listed ones." Koharu stared at the screen and groaned.

"Are we going to have to storm all of those?"

"No," I started slowly, "Just the older, unoccupied ones."

"And how many of those are there?"

I skimmed through the list quickly. About one in every 4 were built before 1940. About half of those were listed as unoccupied. That was just the first page too. Not to mention the ones that were unlisted, which it was more likely to be one of those. I did the math quickly. "About 25. But it's more likely that she'll be in one of the unlisted ones. I doubt whoever hired these guys is stupid enough to choose a listed hiding place." She nodded once, her face grim. I sighed. "Don't worry. We'll find her."

"I hope so," she murmured.

– _Kaydence – _

I decided that I hated my life when I received my fifteenth meal of stale bread and moldy cheese. Sure it was something, but I was still half starving. I never touched the cheese and 3 slices of stale bread every 8 hours or so just wasn't that filling. My stomach grumbled constantly and I was still bored to death. I guessed that it had been close to a week since I had been brought to this godforsaken place.

I stared at the blank walls, once more trying to figure out how to get out of here. I had to remind myself again that I had no weapons, there were no windows, the door was locked, I had nothing to pick it with, and they had a gun.

I had long since gone through Kyoya's coat pockets and only found lint and a pen. Both of which were completely useless unless I wanted to leave a message behind. The cuts on my hands were half-scabbed and almost green with infection. I couldn't even touch them with the lightest touch I could possibly muster without almost shrieking in pain.

I hadn't slept in at least two days, between the hunger and blistering pain in my hands.

I was losing hope slowly. Very slowly I was losing hope that I would be found. And everyday I thought about that kiss I'd bestowed upon Kyoya.

– _Kyoya – _

This was just getting tedious. Tedious and annoying. In the course of a week, the police had stormed the 25 suspected cabins plus two unlisted ones. None of which had come up with anything. Koharu was scourging old maps across the room while I searched online with satelite images.

I hated this, being unable to locate something that should be so easy to find. I scrolled the image up closer to a clump of trees. Nothing, just like the last hour. I moved it to the left the tiniest bit. Something caught my eye. Through the trees, I could roughly make out what could be a dirt road. I sharpened the image.

It _was _a dirt road. I followed it with my eyes, having to move up a bit before it reached the end. I stared at it, zooming in. "Koharu!" I called across the room. She looked behind her at me while I kept my eyes fixed on the screen. I waved her over. When she was standing behind me, looking over the screen she gasped lightly.

A white van was parked, barely noticable through the shrubs. Near it was a wooden cabin with the roof half rotted. It looked like it could have been used for group camping trips at one point before it had started rotting. I zoomed in on it more. I somehow doubted that she would be kept where she could see outside. There had to be a basement of some sort. It might even have been built underneath the building prior to the kidnapping. "Oh my God," Koharu whispered.

"I think we just found Kaydence."

–

**A/N: Kudos to KageNoNeko, thearistocrat, Illogical Human, TwilightFever-FutureCullen, and Koharu Veddette! **

**You think it's exciting now? Just you wait. **


	6. Futile & The Hole in the Ground

_Like a Cloud in the Wind_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 6 – Futile/The Hole in the Ground_

– _Kyoya –_

I called the chief immediately, glancing at the coordinates and rattling them off to him before hanging up. I stood and took Koharu's hand, pulling her toward the door. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"To find Kaydence," I murmured. We were at the Malronda's, in Kaydence's room. Koharu had started staying there so we could easily meet either there or at my house without having to get a car to pick her up. We were going to be there when she was brought out of that cabin if it killed me. Even if we were only waiting outside in a car we'd be there.

We ran into Tate halfway down the stairs. He seemed to sense out urgency. "Find her?" he asked eagerly. I nodded once while Koharu glared at him. "Better hurry then!" And then he left. I thought he might want to come with us. But he just went back up to his room.

"He doesn't seem to care that his best friend is missing," Koharu raged quietly, being the one to pull me now. I called a car but thought better of it. A helicopter would be way faster, especially for the distance we were going to have to take it.

"The chopper will be faster," I muttered, recalling that car and getting the helicopter sent to the roof of the Malronda house. They had a landing pad on their roof, as did my own house. I turned around and pulled Koharu back up the stairs until we reached the roof.

"Kyoya?" she asked quietly as we waited. Her hair was dancing in the slight breeze. I couldn't help noticing how beautiful she looked like that. Thoughtful yet slightly wild at the same time. I looked at her questioningly. "Why're you doing this? Why are you looking for her?"

I knew that she was going to ask eventually. It just figured that it would be now, too. While we were waiting to be transported to the place where her cousin could very well be held at that very moment. I cleared my throat. "Several reasons," I murmured, "One, she's a friend. Two, it's partly my fault she's in this situation in the first place. Three, I promised your uncle I'd find his daughter and I intend to keep that promise." Her eyes were piercing me with this odd look. Like she didn't expect me to care much. "I'm going to find her, Koharu."

She nodded, looking thoughtful as we heard a chopper in the distance. "I trust that you will," she replied softly while I turned to glance at the helicopter, shielding my eyes from the sun with my hand. The closer it got, the more I wished I could give a better reassurance to Koharu that her cousin was going to be perfectly fine. By the time it landed, that wish had grown to a burning desire that needed to be fulfilled or it would consume everything that I was or would be.

I simply had to find Kaydence. To keep everyone happy, which in turn could very well bring great profits to me as well. I climbed into the chopper after helping Koharu up. She gave me a almost haughty look at my manners, reminding me once again that she was Kaydence's cousin, but accepted the help anyway. I also made sure that she was buckled in before I strapped myself to the seat as well, putting on a headset and handing a second to her. We could communicate that way and we were on a different channel than the pilot, though the pilot could still interject things if he needed to for safety reasons.

She stared out the window as we started to take off. I stared at her.

– _Kaydence – _

My first sleep in several days was interrupted by sharp kicks to the stomach. Painful, sharp kicks that felt like a knife was piercing through me. I felt my back hit the wall while a foot hit my ribcage and winced. I glared up at Arthur. The asshole. "Get up," he said coldly. He gave me a moment to do it myself before he impatiently grabbed my wrist and yanked me up. I winced again, biting my lip to keep from crying out. Alrod appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Bind her."

My arms were jerked behind me and tied hurriedly. Something told me they weren't taking me to the bathroom again. If they were then why the hell could they be tying my hands so hurriedly. Arthur looked slight flushed. My hands were screaming. The infected cuts were horribly sore and it didn't help that they weren't bandaged again. I was pulled down the hallway, straight past the bathroom.

We passed a room with the door half open. I glanced inside it as I was rushed past. It was littered and untidy. Two beds lined the walls and bits of food were scattered across the counters of a small kitchen area. Arthur glared at me and pushed my head so it would face forward. "Don't get curious, girl," he growled, "Where you're going there won't be anything to look at."

There was a staircase at the end of the hall which I was pushed up, falling and scrapping my knees on the rough edge of the stairs before being grabbed and pulled back to my feet. It was dark so I couldn't see anything very well while I stumbled up the stairs weakly.

There was nothing at the top of the stairs. Just the ceiling. But we just kept plunging on up. Arthur put his hand up and pushed, still moving. The ceiling just let up to his hand. A trapdoor. That was just great. So even if I had tried to escape I would have needed to know there was a trapdoor there.

They pushed me up. Arthur slammed the door behind him, locking it and covering it with a rug. I felt something fall out of my pocket when Alrod jerked me forward again. I looked back briefly and saw it was Kyoya's pen, right next to where the trapdoor was hidden. The roof of the damn building was half-rotted. There were stairs leading up to a loft. This was exactly the kind of place I would have loved to explore as a kid. Now, I didn't think that I would be doing much of anything like that after this experience. The white van was waiting for me outside once again and I groaned.

I was shoved into it as a needle was once again pulled out and a gun aimed at my head to keep me still. "Fucking hell," I muttered, rolling my eyes. I felt nauseous. Very, very nauseous. It was probably the hunger, but the sight of the needle full of anesthetic crap just made it worse. Arthur was laughing sadistically almost as he shoved the syringe up my arm. It made me feel even worse, if that was possible. So sick that I actually threw up. All that stale bread didn't settle very well when it mixed with the stupid anesthetic in my bloodstream. The door shut while I was retching.

"Bloody girl," Arthur growled as he slid into the drivers seat. Alrod slid solemnly into the passengers seat. "And now we're going to have to clean out the back."

I wiped my mouth on my shoulder and let myself fall sideways to the floor. I shivered, feeling like a worthless piece of shit. Kyoya must have gotten close. That's why I was being moved. I closed my eyes with that single thought in my head. _He was close. _

– _Kyoya – _

Koharu looked out the window, watching for the cabin. I watched her. She looked worried. Tremendously worried. And she was chewing her nails a little too. I frowned a bit. She shouldn't have to worry so much. She shouldn't have to be thrust into this worrying, rushed scene. I put a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head, biting her lip. "Don't worry. She'll be there," I murmured.

She just glanced at me before turning back to the window. "How do you know that, Kyoya?" she said softly. "How do you know that she'll be there?"

Truth was I didn't. I just had this gut feeling that she was in this cabin. If she wasn't in this one, where else would she be? I tried to come up with a reason as to why I would know but I couldn't lie to Koharu even if I had one. "I don't know," I replied, "I just have a feeling, Koharu."

She turned back to my briefly, staring into my eyes with doubt. "Feelings aren't always right. And I have a really bad one right now." She turned her gaze back to the window but I kept my eyes on her. She was close to Kaydence. I could tell she was. She wouldn't be so worried if she wasn't. She was merely her cousin but she was still close to her. "Look! There it is!" I looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, below us was the cabin surrounded by police cars. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I realized there was no white van among the vehicles. The helicopter started descending.

When it landed I took Koharu's hand and pulled her out with me. "Ohtori-sama!" an officer exclaimed. "The building's secure. Neither subject is present or the girl." I swore under my breath while Koharu closed her eyes. I squeezed the hand that I still had hold of. She shook her head. "There isn't any evidence that anyone has been here for years."

I let out of a low growl. "I'll be the judge of that," I muttered. There was no way that she hadn't been here. The satellite images had shown a white van that was now absent. Koharu's hand slipped out of mine as I strode up the rotting steps of the cabin. I looked around the place. Two words described it all. Rotting and dirty. A small kitchen area was to the left. I checked every single damn cabinet for any sign of food.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I wanted to kick something but my self-control wouldn't let me. I wandered into the bunk rooms, looking for any sign that Kaydence had been here.

Nothing.

Now I was starting to lose my temper. I _knew _she had been here. I just knew it. "Kyoya, she wasn't here," Koharu's voice came from the doorway. "Just face it." She was leaning against the door frame, her eyes sad and staring at me with disdain.

"She was here. I can feel it," I replied with a soft, deadly voice.

"Feelings are wrong sometimes," she whispered, "You can't help it if it was wrong."

"She was here, dammit!" I broke out loudly, pounding on the door frame with my fist just inches from her head. I searched for evidence with my eyes frantically. I left the bunk room heading for the stairs to the loft that I had passed on the way through. Something caught my eye near the stairs. In a corner. I bent down and picked it up. "Koharu!" I yelled. "Koharu, she was here!"

I heard her sigh and come back out. "Kyoya, you can't keep saying that if you have no ev–," she broke off as she stared at what I was holding in my hand.

"She was here. This is my pen. This... This was in my jacket pocket. The very jacket she had with her when she was taken," I said. Koharu just stared blankly at the pen with her mouth open. "She was hidden in here somewhere, Koharu."

"Where? The rest of the stupid place is barren. There isn't any door or anything where you found the pen." That gave me an idea. And it was half-spurred by the idea I had earlier when I had found this place on the satellite images._ There had to be a basement of some sort. _

I started knocking on the walls and pushing against them. Koharu looked at me like I had gone insane. "There has to be a trapdoor or secret passage or something here. Anything that could lead to a basement," I grunted heavily. Her eyes shown with realization, glancing at the floor. I followed her gaze. There was a ragged rug on the floor. She beat me to leaning down and throwing it aside. A slender steel lock was hooked onto a metal latch. "I need a crowbar!" I shouted.

After several minutes of impatient foot-tapping, a crowbar was brought from God only knows where and handed to me. I shoved one end of it in the space above the lock and pushed down. It cracked open easily. I threw it open. She could still be here. It was a very slight chance but she could still be here. There was a long staircase leading down into gloom. I started descending. "S-Sir! That could be dangerous!" an officer stuttered behind me. I turned to glare at him.

"Give me your gun then," I retorted, holding out my hand. He stared at me like Koharu had when she had seen me start beating on walls. I stared back with complete seriousness shining in my eyes. Reluctantly, he handed me the pistol that was latched on his belt. I nodded at him and continued down.

Koharu followed me hesitantly, keeping close on my tail. I held the gun in front of me, careful not to put my finger on the trigger. I opened the first door I came to. It was a room with two lumpy beds and a small kitchen with food strewn across the counters. The trash was full of moldy cheese. Metal shelves lined the walls. They looked like they had left in a hurry.

I turned around and pulled Koharu back down the hall with my free hand, keeping the gun cocked in front of me with my other. The next room was a bathroom. A woman's bathroom. A towel was hanging on a rack by the shower. Other than that it looked like it hadn't been used at all. The dust on the floor showed obvious signs of Kaydence stumbling and at some point being dragged. The very end of the hall led to a storage room. I felt my heart sink. It was empty. No windows. A lock on the door. And on the floor were scraps of green fabric. I let go of Koharu's hand to pick one up and turn it over in my hands.

_Blood_.

There was _blood _on them. Dried blood. And something told me that it wasn't either of the assholes who had taken Kaydence. Koharu gasped and pushed her face into my shoulder, looking at the fabric. "It's from her dress," I murmured. "She was definitely here."

"She's hurt," Koharu choked. I nodded, feeling numb. Those bastards were going to pay when I found them. They were going to pay horridly. I curled my hand into a fist around the shred of fabric and closed my eyes. They weren't going to get away with this. And whoever hired them was going to pay even more.

Koharu dropped to her knees next to me, alarming me briefly. I almost thought that she had passed out, but a dry sob escaped from between her lips as I knelt down next to her. "Koharu?" I asked softly, allowing the slightest bit of concern to enter my voice. Her tears dropped to the floor. This alarmed me more. "What? Are you hurt?" I asked, more worry leaking into my voice.

She shook her head, chuckling a little. "No, no," she murmured, wiping her eyes. "It's just... The idea of Kaydence being hurt makes me feel guilty for not being the one to go through it." She shook her head while I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Weird, right?"

I was the one to shake my head this time. "It isn't. I've felt the same ever since she called me the night she was kidnapped. But it isn't our fault, Koharu."

"It's not that I blame myself, Kyoya," she muttered, "It's that she's... she's one of my best friends. Always has been. Even when we lived across the world from each other..." she trailed off, tears coming to her eyes again. "Who the hell would treat her like this? Who would treat _anyone _like this?" I pulled her into my arms as she broke down again, trying to offer some sort of comfort to her. To console her. "Who would do this, Kyoya?" she sobbed into my shoulder.

I squeezed her lightly. "I don't know," I replied softly in her ear, "Arthur's completely demented according to his psychology report. Whoever their boss is must be even more demented. But they're going to pay. I promise you, they'll pay." She buried her face in my shoulder and continued to cry. I let her. It was better that she let out her emotions than keep them bottled up.

–

When Koharu had composed herself, I picked up the other shreds and stood, heading back for the stairs to the trapdoor. I was going to find those bastards and when I was going to get their boss's name out of them even if I had to torture them for it. And then, I was going to hunt down that person and kill them. Koharu held onto my arm, half-jogging to keep up.

The dirt road still had tire tracks from where the van had been parked. Somehow I managed to follow them all the way to the main road where the tell-tale trail of dust onto it showed that they had turned left, north. Toward Sendai.

I turned to Koharu. I knew she was thinking the same thing. "Someone warned them," we said at the same time.

– _Kaydence – _

We were still traveling when I woke up groggily. The van bumped uncomfortably and I couldn't find the strength to sit up and look at where we were going. So I laid there. Soon enough we came to a stop. The rolling door opened. Arthur stiffened when he saw me awake. "How long have you been up?" he growled.

"2 minutes," I muttered, unsure. It seemed like longer but it was probably better if I lied about that. He glared at me for a moment but eventually leaned in to grab my arm and jerk me out of the car. He took a cloth and tied it around my head, effectively blinding me. I couldn't believe this. They probably didn't want me to know how to escape. But seriously. I was so weak from malnutrition already that I could barely walk straight.

I was pulled roughly over some rocks, scrapping up myself even more in the process. I was shoved down a hole that I assumed was a cellar of some sort, seeing as I had to find my footing on a ladder while they lowered me down. It wasn't a long ladder and soon my feet touched the ground. I heard the Ass Duo descend and soon after my eyes were uncovered and the rope tying my hands together was cut.

I winced as Alrod once again cut through the flesh of my hand. He smirked and pushed me to the ground before following Arthur back up the ladder. I looked around the place. There was one dim light hanging from the ceiling. The walls and floor were made out of stone. I felt like I had been shoved into a hollowed out cave with a door. In a corner were a couple of loaves of bread and a huge jug of water. Another corner was a bucket that I assumed was for me to go to the bathroom in. They had even given me a pile of straw to sleep on this time. I knelt down and let myself fall down on the straw. It wasn't very comfortable but it was better than the cold stone floor.

After resting on the floor for a while, I climbed the ladder and pushed against the door weakly. It didn't budge even the tiniest bit. I lowered myself back down. An engine roared to life and I heard a car drive away. So they were leaving me here to die. That was just great. I wondered if anyone would hear me if I screamed. Probably not.

I opened my mouth and screamed anyway, turning my throat raw before I stopped. I wasn't getting out of here any time soon. If I was in a hole in the ground, no one was going to find me. I would die down here. I'd never felt so abandoned and hopeless in my life. I curled up in the straw and sobbed helplessly, hot angry tears falling down my cheeks.

– _Kyoya – _

"You're close to her aren't you?" I asked Koharu softly on the way home in a car. She nodded, staring out the window.

"I haven't seen her in years. But we were close when we were little and still talk on the phone occasionally," she murmured. She looked so pained. So sad.

"She'll be ok. She's strong," I said just as softly as before. "Koharu, she can take anything that they throw at her."

She turned to me and nodded. "I know, but I can't help worrying."

–

"Where... The _hell _is Kaydence?" Haruhi demanded once more. I sighed. I should tell them. It had, after all, been over two weeks. They had to know that something was up.

I looked over at Koharu. She looked away from me. "I don't know, Haruhi. She's missing." She stared at me, not seeming to comprehend.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"Yes. Because I love being sarcastic about serious matters," I retorted blandly. Again, Haruhi stared at me. "Yes I'm serious. She's missing," I answered her look. "No, you can't help. No one else should be put in danger because of this entire ordeal."

"But Semp–!"

"No, Haruhi." She glared at me. I stared her down. I hated to do this but... "5,000 yen added to your debt."

She spluttered. "Why?!"

"Because. You were thinking about looking for Kaydence yourself. I won't have it, dammit. It's my responsibility and I won't have you messing around when I have it under control." She grumbled unhappily and stalked off. She and Koharu were hosting together in a matter of minutes. I watched them from afar. Koharu, like Haruhi, was a natural. I'd caught myself staring at her several times, as I did right now, and I had been thinking about her a lot lately. I'd only known her for two weeks and I already knew that I was attracted to her. It was logical though of course. She was intelligent, funny, and most certainly beautiful. It still kind of bugged me that I didn't know why she was hiding her true identity, but I brushed it aside like I normally did.

–

I reprimanded myself for the millionth time for getting distracted from Kaydence's case. It wasn't even that late. Being this distracted was unacceptable. I might be able to give myself a little bit of leniency due to how much I'd already done today but that wasn't a very stable excuse when talking to Kaydence's father or her kidnappers.

There I was. Getting distracted again. I shook my head as my phone started ringing. I picked it up off my bedside table. _5 – Koharu Yoshiiva_, the screen read. What on earth could Koharu be wanting from me at 11 PM? A chill ran down my spine, remembering that I had thought the same thing when Kaydence had called the night she had been captured. I flipped open the phone and held it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Kyoya?" Koharu said, sounding slightly sick. Like she had swallowed something disgusting before calling me. But at least she was talking. That was a good thing. She hadn't been taken or something ridiculous. I expected to hear Haruhi in the background, seeing as she was staying the night there, but there was silence.

"Are you okay, Koharu?" I asked semi-quietly. I ran through a list of sicknesses she could have in my head, though there was probably no need to.

"Yes," she said, her voice a little stronger, "I need to tell you something." I rarely dated, but I'd had girls confess their feelings to me before. Normally, they started like that. If she was about to tell me she liked me, I might as well tell her the feeling was mutual.

"I'm all ears," I murmured.

I heard her inhale, taking a deep breath. I had to smirk at her nervousness. It was adorable. "I love you," she said at the same time I did. The other end of the line was silent for a moment. She was probably in shock. "W-What?" she asked confusedly.

"I said, I love you," I rumbled gently, slowly saying each word to get through to her shocked state. The words felt slightly foreign on my lips but I used them anyway. "And I believe you said the same."

"Y-Yes," she breathed. I felt the corners of my lips twitch upward a bit.

"I guess... That means we're dating now," I muttered, scratching the back of my head with my free hand. Again, the words sounded foreign but right. "And I have to go now, but I'll see you bright and early on Monday, alright?" Bright and early, my ass. I hated mornings. Though, now I actually had motivation to get out of bed on Monday, to please her.

"Bye Kyoya," she said softly, a smile creeping into her voice. Her end of the line went dead. It had probably been a dare from Haruhi. Her feelings were probably genuine though. I had to stop and think for a few moments. I'd known Koharu for a little over a week, almost two, and now she was my girlfriend. A little over two weeks ago, Kaydence had kissed me under the excuse of hormones.

Maybe that excuse hadn't been so flimsy after all, but I didn't really care.

– _Kaydence – _

"Kaydence!" someone yelled, "_Kaydence!_" It was dark. I spun in all directions, looking for the voice but I couldn't find the person calling me. But I recognized the voice. It was my brother. He was calling for me. He sounded desperate to find me.

"Pierce?" I screamed back. "I'm here! I'm down here! Pierce!"

"Kaydence! Where are you?!" It was more distant this time. Much farther away. Like he was moving away instead of getting closer. No. He couldn't be leaving. He couldn't be leaving me here to die. He just couldn't. He was my _brother_. Siblings didn't leave each other to die in a hole in the ground. No matter how close they were. They just didn't.

"PIERCE!" I shouted, turning my throat raw. "PIERCE! DON'T LEAVE! PLEASE PIERCE! PLEASE!"

"Kaydence!" His voice was just a whisper in the distance now.

"_PIERCE!_"

I jerked awake, screaming. My hair was plastered to my forehead with sweat. I tried to breath. Tried to think. I was abandoned. I felt even more abandoned than before. Even though it was just a dream. I sat up shakily and grabbed a package of bread from the corner. I was feverish, probably from not eating substantially. Even though it made me sick to my stomach to eat anything, I stuffed a few pieces of the bread in my mouth. I looked up at the ceiling. Little slivers of light were shining through the cracks in the door. It was obviously day. I must have slept through all of yesterday straight into the next day. Might even have been multiple days for all knew.

My stomach churned, threatening to make me upchuck the food I'd just eaten. I scrambled for the bucket. I tried to hold my hair back as I retched and choked, failing horribly. Dammit. I couldn't even hold anything down. How was I supposed to survive if I couldn't even hold any food down?

The hatch above opened suddenly. Light poured into the room carved out of the earth. "Where am I, you bloody bastards?" I yelled up. "Where the fuck am I?" Arthur's nimble figure dropped down from above, hardly even touching the ladder. He pointed his gun at my head. I glared back at it, not caring if they shot me through the head anymore.

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you," he spat. "I'm already god spitting furious from having to clean up your _sick _from the back of my blasted car."

"I bet it's not even your car," I said, my lip curling. He removed the safety.

"Do _not _test me, girl," he growled in a low voice. Reluctantly, he put the safety back on his pistol and shoved it back into its place on his belt. A cellphone slid out of his pocket as a newspaper dropped from above. He caught the paper mid-fall and shoved it at me. I stared at the date on it. How could four weeks have past already? Sure I had been stuck in here a long time, but I didn't think it had been quite _that _long. I stayed on the ground, unable to find the strength to get up. "Hold up the paper," Arthur commanded.

I did so, feeling the urge to puke up on his shoes. A flash from the camera-phone in his hands was all I got before the paper was ripped from my hands. He climbed the ladder again, snickering quietly and slamming the hatch behind him.

I was alone again.

– _Kyoya – _

A beeping noise from my cellphone alerted me of a new text message. I flipped open the phone and pushed the OK button to open the forwarded message. What it was chilled me to the bone. I stared at the picture I had been sent. "Kyoya?" Koharu asked softly, coming up behind me. I shut my phone quickly, turning to face her with my phone behind my back. I didn't want to worry her anymore than she already was. "What is it?"

"Nothing," I murmured after a moment's hesitation. She rose a skeptical eyebrow. Her eyes wandered to where by arms were hiding something behind my back. Faster than I had ever imagined her moving, she swooped around me and snatched my phone from my hand. "Koharu! Don't–!" It was too late. She was already staring at the picture with wide eyes.

"Oh my God," she whispered, bringing a hand to her mouth. I sighed and pulled her close to me. "Kyoya," she choked, "She... She looked half-dead." I nodded, closing my eyes and pushing my nose into her hair. I gently slipped my phone out of her hand, bringing it up behind her back so I could see the picture again over her shoulder.

It was Kaydence. Holding a newspaper with the date on it. But that wasn't what had scared Koharu. Kaydence literally looked sick. She was pale and slightly green in the face. Like she was starved and couldn't hold food down anymore. She looked fragile and weak. The message that accompanied the picture wasn't that good either. _Malronda, send 8 million United States dollars to the account J4256C at Japan National by November 26__th__, or your daughter dies. _

It was September 26th. In that time they could lie and kill her, she could be starved to death, or she could contract some deadly illness. I pulled away from Koharu and dragged out my computer, renewed with determination. I plugged my phone into the computer, trying to trace the source of the message. After a few moments it traced it from Tokyo to Iwaki to Kyoto all the way over to Hawaii back to Ogaki and to Osaka before finally coming back to Sendai.

The exact direction that the van had headed from the cabin. I took Koharu's hand as she sat down next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder. I tried to narrow in on the stupid signal, succeeding only after almost throwing the entire laptop across the room in frustration. It was in a general area near the coast. Just south of Sendai. I memorized the map quickly. Kaydence was there somewhere. Somewhere along that coast she was being hidden from us.

And Koharu and I were going to find her.

I looked up the owner of the bank account number, hacking the bank's computer system in the process. The person who owned it was someone by the name of Matte Hirostens. Could be an alias for either Alrod, Arthur, or their mysterious boss. I looked up the name. Nothing showed up at all. Not even a deceased old man. It wasn't a known alias for anyone either. So that was a dead end. But at least we had a general location for where she was.

I could search the entire area, but chances were that I wouldn't find her. These bastards were tricky. They would hide her somewhere that no one would easily look for her. We would never have even found where she had been at the stupid cabin if it hasn't been for the pen that had been right on top of the trapdoor.

So we'd have to wait for a clue. Or inspiration. Both were welcome. Both were needed.

–

**A/N: Kudos to thearistocrat, KageNoNeko, Maximum Vampire, TwilightFever-FutureCullen, and Koharu Veddette! **

**The dialogue between Koharu and Kyoya during their little "confession session" as I like to call ****it, is from Koharu Veddette's story, Twisted Fate. We sort of teamed up to tie our stories into each ****others a little bit. Like it? (It's slightly corny but y'know... It's alright. Fanfiction doesn't have to be perfect!)**

**Might need to wait a while for the next chapter due to the fact that I have multiple doctor's appointments this week (and it's spring break too! Go figure!) Also slightly sleep deprived so I'll be sleeping as much as I can while I'm off of school. **


	7. Everything Wrong & Guessing Games

_Like a Cloud in the Wind _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 7 – Everything Wrong/Guessing Games_

– _Kaydence – _

Someone tell me what is wrong with this picture.

A girl, locked in a hole in the ground with no way to escape. She's so sick she can barely move. Her food source is depleting rather quickly and she can't hold down any of that food even when she does eat it. She hasn't been in contact with anyone in nearly a week. Not even her kidnappers. She's utterly abandoned.

That's right.

All of it's wrong. You'd think that if they were holding me for ransom they would at least keep me in better health. Or maybe this was all just a ploy to guilt my father into giving them more money. Yeah, that was probably it.

And yet, I still had no clue what was happening in the outside world. I had no clue what was happening to me or if I'd even survive. And at the moment, I was so exhausted and dehydrated from vomiting every few hours that I couldn't move and didn't care to.

Bloody hell. Everything that could possibly be wrong was wrong.

– _Kyoya – _

As soon as I could, I visited with Layne once more. He was not a happy person at all. Rather, he was distressed and angry. The distress, towards his missing daughter and the ransom he had received. The anger, towards me for not finding said missing daughter. "Bloody hell, Ohtori!" he bellowed. I stared at him calmly. "What have you been _doing _all this time? Eh?"

"Looking for Kaydence," I said stiffly.

"Sure as hell doesn't look like it! Looks more like you've been running around with my niece!"

"Uncle Lay-!" Koharu started to protest defensively, immediately being cut off by Layne.

"Don't you dare 'Uncle Layne,' me, Missy!" he snapped, pointing a finger at her. "I know that you've been with him practically all the time! I have no clue what you were doing but you hang around him whenever you get the bloody chance to!"

"We're looking for Kaydence!" Koharu yelled at him. "We're looking for her! And you know what? We almost found her! But they moved her before we could get there!" He stared at her, then looked at me. I glared back at him. Koharu looked like she was about to break down again. "We're looking for her, Uncle Layne," she breathed, her face contorting in anguish.

He gazed at her like he was looking at his own daughter. Then he let out a soft sigh and held his arms open for her. "I'm sorry," he murmured, stroking her hair as he held his niece.

"I want her home as much as you do," she choked, burying her face in his chest. I felt like I was intruding on some sort of personal family moment. I stood there awkwardly, twiddling my thumbs. I noticed that I got no apology for being accused of not doing everything in my power to find Kaydence. Figures.

Layne looked over his niece's shoulder at me. "Find her. Find her quickly and make sure she's safe. And if you endanger Koharu, I'll kill you myself," he growled, "I don't want to give over half my fortune to those bastards. But I will. Only as a last resort, though."

I nodded stiffly while Koharu pulled away from Layne and kissed him on the cheek, returning to my side.

–

Inspiration struck nearly five days later when Koharu mentioned something right before club. "Kyoya? Is it possible that you could pull the license plate number from the van?" The van on the satellite images! We might just be able to get a look at the damn license plate number if we could make the picture sharp enough. Why didn't I think of it before?

"Maybe," I muttered, "I'll work on it. You should get to your customers." She nodded striding away.

Minutes later, I pushed away all thoughts of club profits and pulled up the saved satellite images from the day we had stormed the cabin. I saw Koharu glance over and catch my eye, her eyes widening slightly before turning back to her customers. I clicked furiously. First, zooming in on the van. Next, sharpening the picture. I zoomed in more, trying to get a better look at the license plate. I sharpened it again, putting a box around the one portion where the plate would be and pulling it into a program to right it.

The plate was at an odd angle. So the program I set in it could only face it forward and give me possibilities. The first three letters on it were absolutely certain though.

_XCF._

Koharu excused herself, taking the teapot with her as explanation. A few moments later and she was standing behind me, watching my computer screen as I typed furiously. Her hand was gripping my shoulder.

White vans with the license plate number starting with XCF came up with 5 results only 2 of which were said to be in Japan currently. Koharu's mouth dropped open as she read the screen. "Does that say what I think it does?" she asked, pointing at what she was referring to. My eyes traveled to the point of her index finger.

"That bitch," I growled under my breath, reading who it was registered to.

_Rayu Hizuna. _Kiyoko Hizuna's younger brother.

"But... Isn't that Arthur's wife or something?" she added, moving her finger downward. I felt a lump in my throat.

_Angela Smires. _The wife Arthur Smires had killed 11 years ago. I would have thought that the registration would have been changed to a different name since she had died but it hadn't.

It could be either of those stupid vans that had transported Kaydence to a new location. Either of them could have been the one that was used to capture her. So, instead of guessing, I called the chief. "I want someone trailing white vans with the license plate numbers XCF-207 or XCF-942," I stated with an irritated edge in my voice. "If either of them go anywhere suspicious or are driven by either suspect I want them taken into custody and reported to me immediately."

"Yes, Ohtori-sama." I hung up directly after that.

I glanced up at Koharu. She was biting her lip again with worry. I sighed softly to myself. "Koharu, don't worry," I murmured.

"What if whoever warned them before warns them again?" she asked, her grip on my shoulder tightening. I hadn't given the matter of who had warned them much thought. It could be anyone. More than likely it was the person who had hired the bastards in the first place though. I didn't have an answer to who it was so I didn't know how to answer her.

"I don't know," I replied gently. "We need to figure out who this person is though." She nodded in agreement, still biting her lip. "We'll work on that later. However, for now I want you to go back over and host with Haruhi, alright?"

She let out a reluctant sigh, but nodded with a small smile set on her face. She scurried into the kitchen, with the teapot still in hand. I turned back to my computer, slightly observing the room. Might as well get a head start on figuring out the mysterious boss.

–

"It has to be someone that has some sort of grudge against Kaydence or her father," Koharu insisted later that night. She was sitting across the couch from me in Kaydence's bedroom.

"Not necessarily," I retorted for the millionth time, "Likely, but not necessarily. It could just as easily be a family friend who is significantly more greedy." It was a weak retort. Koharu used this to her advantage.

"If they're greedy then they can still hold a grudge. If they're greedy then why kidnap Kaydence and not someone else? There's tons of rich kids going to Ouran. They could have kidnapped any of them. I think, whoever it was, was specifically targeting Layne and Felicity." I took off my glasses to pinch the bridge of my nose. She was so infuriatingly stubborn sometimes.

"Fine," I growled, "Who has a grudge against Kaydence's family?"

She started listing other families. And hell, were there a lot of them. This was really going to take awhile. "Jasonates, Palens, Usaris, Marcals, Fredericks, Fedics, Mercials, Pittals..." and the list when on for about another 10 names before she started to stumble over names. "There's more than that," she muttered to herself, "I know there's more than that." Her face creased into a solid frown of frustration as she stomped on the ground.

"It's a good start," I murmured. She opened her mouth to say something but my cellphone started vibrating furiously on the coffee table in front of me at that moment, the caller ID clearly saying, _4 – Chief Takamura_. "Hold that thought," I breathed, holding a finger up with one hand while flipping the cellular device open with the other. "Yes?"

"We found one of the vans. The one belonging to Rayu Hizuna."

"And...?" I prompted, slightly anxious. I had a feeling that they hadn't found anything.

"It was in the driveway of the Hizuna home. We questioned the boy's father. He says that the van hasn't moved from the driveway in over two weeks. He even let us search it. There's no evidence of the girl or either suspect being inside it."

"He could have been lying," I said dangerously. "I still want it trailed, got it?"

"Yessir," he said stiffly as I pushed the end button and ran a hand through my hair. Koharu leaned over, taking the hand that was pulling at my hair.

"Nothing?" she asked, sounding hopeful that I was going to say they found something.

"Nothing," I confirmed, watching her face fall with a heavy heart. I had a feeling that Angela's van wouldn't be found any time soon. Which meant that we needed to find some other clue. I checked the police report on Arthur to see if there was any new sitings. I'd been doing this frequently over the last week or so, hoping for some sort of clue as to where they were.

Nothing. My hope fell and shattered on the cold hard floor.

– _Kaydence – _

For Christ's sake. I wished someone would just kill me. Being dead would be better than being so sick I couldn't sleep. No one should have to suffer this much. I kept having these delusions that someone was there with me, too.

One minute there would be someone sitting next to me with a warm washcloth next to me and the next, nothing.

I couldn't stand it. Normally I didn't mind being alone for days on end. But then I knew that there was always a possibility of coming in contact with someone in my family at least. Now, I didn't know when the next time I would see anyone was. And when I did see someone I knew that they would point a gun at my head or want to cause me bodily harm. I dreaded seeing the Ass Duo no matter how lonely I was.

I wanted to see my parents. And Pierce. And Tate. Even Kyoya and the rest of the Host Club, as annoying as they were. I was struck by sudden memories from my childhood. Ones of the extended family that I hadn't seen in so long.

"_Come on, Kay!" a little girl with black wavy hair and blue eyes giggled as she ran for the swing that was hanging from a tree in a very spacious backyard. She was faster than me, so she beat me to sitting down and starting to pump her legs. "Push me!" _

_I gave her an evil look and pulled the swing back way over my head. She looked slightly pale. I was short but for two 8-year-olds almost 4 feet 8 inches is still pretty high. I giggled as I let go, listening to her scream of slight terror turn into one of laughter. "Higher!" _

_I pushed her as hard as I could when she swung back. After a while my arms started getting sore. "Koharu! My turn!" I pouted with a slight whine in my voice. Koharu grinned and nodded, dragging her feet on the ground when she could. When the swing started to lose momentum she jumped straight off and tumbled to the ground. "Haru! Are you hurt?" I ran over to her. She was rolling around laughing when I reached her. _

"_That was fun!" she exclaimed, smiling up at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. _

"_Don't scare me like that!" I scolded, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. A boy who looked a lot like Koharu ran out, looking frightened. He must have seen his sister on the ground through the window from the kitchen. "She's fine, Yuigo!" I called, grinning from ear to ear before pulling Koharu back over to the swing. "Your turn to push me!" _

_I could feel eyes on me and looked over at the porch where my grandfather was watching me. I gave him a big smile before turning back to the swing. _

I missed Koharu. I hadn't really thought about her much lately, what with the chaos of school and everything. But now I realized that I missed her and Yuigo. Not to mention Uncle Yamato. And Acelin. And Emily. And Rose, though she had only been about 2 the last time I had seen her. And Caitlin. Even those damned twins that had wreaked havoc on my life since Yamato had adopted them.

I missed them. And my grandparents. God, I'd never missed my extended family so much. I could suddenly taste Grandma's cookies in my mouth and hear Grandpapa's voice singing me and Koharu to sleep. Mother's side of the family had always been more open, being Italian. Father's side was more reserved and didn't really get as close to Pierce and I as they should have. They were the British ones.

We'd lived in Britain most of our lives, so I hadn't really had that much time to spend with my Italian Grandparents. But the memories with them and Koharu were the ones that I remembered right now. And it made me want to cry.

I was freezing, too. Which didn't help my loneliness or my sickness. I drew Kyoya's jacket tighter around me, shivering. I prayed that someone would find me. Anyone. Just as long as they could get me home. Just as long as I could see the family that I missed so dearly.

– _Kyoya – _

I sent a BOLO out on Angela's van as well as Alrod and Arthur Smires. If anyone saw them then that would most certainly be a clue. If someone saw them, we'd rush to the spot. So far it had turned up with nothing, but it had been out for two weeks. I checked it almost obsessively, most times with Koharu watching over my shoulder.

"Dammit," I swore when we came up with nothing for the billionth time that week. Nearly a fourth of the time that we had before Kaydence was killed had disappeared. Layne was on my tail again. This was stressful. Somehow I had managed to keep up with my ambitions to inherit Father's business.

The hand that was wrapped in mine squeezed gently. I looked up at Koharu. She was smiling softly but sadly. "How many times have I told you not to stress yourself out?" she murmured, stroking her thumb over the back of my hand.

I smirked. "Too many," I replied, slipping my hand out of hers so I could wrap the arm around her. "I'm not that stressed, Koharu. Don't worry about me."

"I'll tell you to stop stressing yourself out when you stop telling me not to worry," she retorted. "I have the right to worry, Kyoya. She's my cousin. And you're my boyfriend."

I sighed but nodded in consent. "Alright, alright," I muttered.

–

I went to the library during lunch on Monday. Koharu went home to have lunch with her twin brother Yuigo. Tamaki had tried to drag me to the cafeteria to eat with the rest of the club but I had refused very thoroughly.

I opened the top of my computer and turned it on. It had been taking longer to boot than normal lately so I was having to run virus scans. Nothing had come up on any of them but there was definitely something that was making it slower. I pulled up the BOLO updates, pulling out a water bottle while waiting impatiently for the page to load. I really had to get all the evidence that I had collected backed up on a flash-drive just in case someone was trying to infect my computer to erase it.

When the page finally loaded I almost dropped the water bottle that I had halfway to my lips.

There was a hit. There was a goddamn hit. I fumbled for my phone and pressed Chief Takamura's speed-dial. "Send men to the location I'm about to send you. I want every nook within a five mile radius searched. I'll be right behind you."

"Hai Ohtori-sama!"

I hung up, sending off the map to the chief's phone. I closed the lid of my computer and shoved it into my backpack before taking off. I called Koharu. "I'll be there in less than five. Be ready," I murmured.

"You found something?" she breathed.

"Perhaps. We'll see when we get to Sendai. Or rather south of Sendai," I replied shortly, taking long strides.

"See you soon." She hung up. I ran into Tamaki before I managed to get outside the school.

"There you are, Kyoya!" he exclaimed.

I glared at him. "Can't talk. Tell our teachers I'll be out the rest of the day," I muttered, pushing past him. The idiot followed me.

"Where are you going?"

"Kaydence," I said shortly, leaving him in the dust as I pushed through the front doors, into the courtyard.

–

As soon as Koharu was in the car I pulled her closer and showed her my computer screen with the map still open. "Isn't that part of the area that you traced the ransom to?" I nodded. "Which is why you think she's there somewhere."

Again I nodded. "Very good," I murmured, squeezing her. She smiled at me. I smiled back, gazing down at her.

"But there's no buildings in that area. Just rocks and beach. A cave perhaps?"

"That's what I was thinking," I replied. She nodded thoughtfully. "I think she's there, Koharu." She sighed and put her head on my shoulder. Soon she was asleep.

I couldn't help thinking how lucky I was to have her.

–

I nudged Koharu awake as we pulled up to the last siting of Arthur and Alrod Smires. "Koharu," I breathed in her ear. "Koharu, we're here." She groaned, pushing her face into my shoulder. I smirked and squeezed her hand. "Time to wake up."

"Kyoya!" she moaned as I pulled away from her and pulled myself out of the car. She followed albeit reluctantly.

"Family who was walking down the beach caught site of them getting into a white van right around this area," an officer filled me in as Koharu came up behind me, yawning tiredly. "They didn't see anyone else with them."

"And the search?" I asked curtly.

"Nothing so far, sir. We're still searching though."

"Good. As soon as you find anything tell me." He nodded, saluting me quickly before taking off again. Koharu looked pale but hopeful when I glanced down at her. "You ok?" I murmured. She nodded, placing her head back on my shoulder. "Tired?" She nodded again. "Come on. Let's look for Kaydence."

–

"Sir!" someone yelled. I spun around, seeing an officer running toward me. "Sir! We found something!" He reached me several seconds later, huffing and trying to get his breath back. "We... We found this," he choked out between breaths. He held up what it was. I stared at it. Koharu covered her mouth.

It was a silk jacket. _My _silk jacket. From _my _suit.

"Where did you find it?" I demanded quickly.

"Over this way," he muttered, taking off with long strides in the direction he had come. I took Koharu's hand and hurried after him. He lead us down a bike trail. We could see the ocean just over a ridge of rocks. After a bit we came to a stop by a cliff. "We found it here, Sir."

She was close. I could feel it. She was so incredibly close. And most likely the Smires brothers had probably left her here. Hidden, ill. They couldn't easily hide here themselves. My guess had been that she was tied up in a cave somewhere and they would return frequently to make sure she was still there and to feed her. I hated thinking about what might be happening to her. What might already have happened to her.

The only way we would find her now that we were so close was if she called for us. So I stared yelling. "Kaydence!" The officer seemed alarmed.

"Sir! You might alert the perpetrators of our presence!"

I glared at him. "And you really think that we'll be able to find her without her response? She's sick. I doubt we'll find her by listening for her movement or something else equally unlikely." He backed down. "Kaydence!" I bellowed again, cupping my hands around my mouth. Koharu joined me.

We yelled until it started getting dark about half an hour later, wandering around on the beach, up and down the trail. "Kyoya," Koharu murmured, "I... I don't think she's here. Or if she is she can't hear us." I shook my head.

It didn't make sense. She had to be here. The clues pointed to this location. Or somewhere close to it at least. "_Kaydence!_" I yelled again.

For the first time I thought heard something. "Kyo-," Koharu started. I shushed her.

"_KAYDENCE!_" I shouted as loud as I possibly could.

"_Kyoya!_" came a very distant scream. Mine and Koharu's eyes shot to each other.

"You heard that, too right?" she breathed. I nodded, feeling something akin to relief flow into my veins. She was here. I had known it. Now we just had to locate her. I started running in the direction of the scream, Koharu close on my tail. "_Kaydence!_" she yelled as we ran through some trees. There was no reply this time. My blood turned cold. That couldn't be good. She couldn't be lost again now that we were so much closer than the last time.

There was a road on the other side of these trees if I remembered the map correctly.

A road that could very easily be used as an escape route. A few officers had followed us. "Make sure that road's blocked off!" I directed as screeching tires sounded somewhere farther up the road.

–

**A/N: Kudos to: Illogical Human, Rixiroo, thearistocrat, TwilightFever-FutureCullen, KageNoNeko, Moonstarr394, and Koharu Veddette. I checked my email as soon as I got up on Monday and found 10 messages, 6 of which were new reviews. I just about died with happiness. **

**I found it quite amusing that tons of people liked the idea of Kyoya/Kaydence more than Kyoya/Koharu. (So... many K names.) Also, sorry for not replying to any reviews. I've been a busy little bee lately. Just keep looking out for new chapters and the plot will reveal itself to you~**

**The little swing memory of Kaydence's was inspired by my own memories of my sister and I swinging on a swing that my grandpa made in his backyard. Once I fell off and my sister was scared that I'd hurt myself but I was laughing when she finally got over to where I was. **

**So I lied. I got this finished in one day. Because I was utterly bored. My vast amounts of doctors appointments start on Tuesday (JOY). And I'm trying to pull an all-nighter now. Yay me. Well... Y'know, it's not like I have to be at school anytime this week.... **


	8. Chess & 5 Star Guest

_Like a Cloud in the Wind _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 8 – Chess/5-Star Guest _

– _Kyoya – _

"Dammit!" I swore as I watched the tail-lights travel farther and farther away at top speed. "Someone get after them!" No one moved. "What the– _Follow them!_" I yelled, pointing down the road after the car that was slowly disappearing. One officer ran for his car, which triggered the rest of them to get their asses moving. Koharu was still staring off in the distance where the car had now disappeared from sight after turning a corner. It had been the van. Kaydence was slipping straight through my fingers again and I'd be damned if I was going to let her if it were possible to catch them.

I was going to bludgeon someone who was responsible tonight.

– _Kaydence – _

"Get up, you bloody girl!" Arthur grunted, waking me with kicks to the stomach again. I couldn't move though. I stared up at him, but I couldn't move. It wasn't possible. I couldn't even find the strength to talk and tell him that I couldn't move. "_Get up_," he bellowed.

"I can't," I managed to mumble weakly after a moment.

"Why not?" he growled, leaning down to hear me better.

"I'm sick!" I spat tiredly, "Or have you not noticed?"

"Is that a request to die?" he retorted, pulling the pistol out of his belt. I stared at it apprehensively, feeling like I was about to barf again. I pulled myself up to put my chin over the bucket, my arms wobbling beneath me. I was amazed that there was anything left in my stomach to throw up. He was staring at me when I glared up at him. "Come on," he muttered, grabbing my arms tenderly and hoisting me up. Since when did he treat me with any sense of respect or caring?

I wasn't expecting to be moved. But I came to the same conclusion as I had before. Kyoya was close to finding me. And judging by Arthur's rushed state, he was closer than he had been last time. I climbed the ladder with a lot of trouble and a lot of being pushed up until I was far enough up for Alrod to pull me out.

They didn't bother letting me try to walk by myself. They just carried me over the rocks and then half-carried, half-dragged me across a bike path, through some woods, and finally to the white van that was waiting for me. Somewhere along the way I realized that my bloody arms were exposed to the cold due to Kyoya's jacket having slipped off my shoulders.

They were pulling me towards the van when I heard the yells. It was just like my dream had been, with Pierce calling for me but unable to actually locate me. "_Kaydence!_" Was that a girl's voice that I heard? Or was it a boy? Another call came a moment later. It _was _a girl. Which meant that Kyoya wasn't alone in his searching for me. I couldn't place who it was though.

"Shit," Arthur muttered, "Damn Ohtori kid's caught up to us too fast. You'll have to take the decoy car, Alrod." His brother smirked and nodded, tying me up quickly and slipping away.

"_KAYDENCE!_" the yell came again. This time it was male. I knew that voice. It wasn't any of my family members but it was just as familiar. Kyoya's. I felt some sort of hopeful energy surge through me. If they knew where I was currently they might just be able to free me. Suddenly, I felt the energy to do anything. I glanced at Arthur's gun, hidden under his shirt, quickly before opening my mouth and letting out a huge scream.

"_KYOYA!_"

Arthur was startled but still managed to cover my mouth before I could scream again. "Damn girl," he growled as I struggled against his grasp. My arms were tied but my legs weren't. If I could get free I could run. Not matter how sick I was, at this moment I could run. I broke free briefly, scrambling across the ground, unbalanced

"_KY-_," I started, getting cut off by Arthur tackling me and smothering a cloth over my mouth. I struggled more underneath him, wanting so desperately to be free. This was unbelievable. I was so close. So very close to freedom. And this fucking bastard was about to take it away from me. He stood, hauling my struggling body with him back up and toward the van.

"Shut your bloody trap!" he grunted, unable to draw his gun while holding me with one arm and covering my mouth with the other. Alrod's Oldsmobile pulled out in front of us. "I got her!" Arthur called to him. He threw me into the back of the Oldsmobile, uncovering my mouth in the process. He apparently had changed his mind about using the Oldsmobile as the decoy. The van would draw more attention. "I'll take the Oldsmobile! You take the van! It'll draw more attention!" he was calling out to his brother as he worked.

He didn't give me the chance to scream before pulling out his pistol and conking me on the back of the head with its butt. My head spun as I fell sideways to the floor of the van. "Go!" Arthur's voice cut into my fading thoughts as he slid into the drivers seat in replacement of Alrod.

Soon everything was completely black.

– _Kyoya – _

Koharu and I ran down the road, stumbling over pebbles and sticks. I was determined not to let those bastards get away again. I'd been so close that I could hear her screams this time. There was just no way that they were getting away.

After about two minutes of hard running Koharu and I collapsed in the back of the limo that had brought us here, breathing heavily. "Drive! Chase that stupid van!" I commanded while gasping for breath, knowing full well that was putting me in more danger than was necessary.

"Kyoya," Koharu murmured reasonably, "If the police cars can't catch them do you really think that this limo can?"

I sighed with frustration, wanting to tear my hair out. "We're so close," I muttered.

"I know," she replied, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. I wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her slender form against my lean one. She pushed her face into my shoulder. "So... close."

Now they weren't just going to pay for kidnapping Kaydence and making her suffer. They were going to pay double the original amount for making Koharu cry. I was going to kill those bastards for doing this to these girls. And I'd get away with the murder.

–

I had to find out where Kaydence had been held. It could give us a clue as to what condition she was in. That might at least put her family at ease a little. To know that she was alive, even if she was horribly sick.

Tachibana had disobeyed my command to drive so we were still sitting there. By the shoreline, waiting to get over our recent failure. I didn't want to take Koharu with me this time. She had the right to know what was happening to her cousin, but it just hurt her too much to see it first-hand. "I'm going to go look for her holding," I murmured into her hair.

"Alright. I'm right behind you," she replied, pulling away slightly to wipe her eyes.

I shook my head. "I want you to stay here."

"Why?" she demanded, sounding slightly angry. I sighed and pressed my lips to her forehead.

"I can't stand seeing you hurt when you see how she's been treated," I muttered, closing my eyes. "I know you're strong but I just can't stand seeing you like that." She was silent for moment but eventually nodded begrudgingly. "I'll be back soon."

I climbed out of the car. Tachibana handed me a flashlight through his window. I nodded my thanks and flicked it on, heading for the bike trail. Someone could easily jump me here, but I doubted they would when police cars were surrounding the area. I returned to the spot where my jacket had been found and started looking for a cave. I climbed over the rocks by the cliff. There wasn't a hidden cave in the rocks.

In fact there was no cave anywhere near here.

Where the hell had they held her?

Then I stumbled upon a wooden door, hidden among the rocks. A heavy steel lock was abandoned not far from it. So this was it. I pulled at the door. It was rather heavy so it took me a few moments to throw it open. When I did, I shined the light down there. Flies were everywhere. The walls and floor were stone, a light layer of dust coating them. A ladder was set into one side of the hole. There was probably more room down below. I swallowed and made sure the door wasn't about to slam shut on me while I was down there. Then I descended down the metal rungs set in the stone, slightly fearful of what I would find down there.

My feet hit the bottom after about 15 steps downward. The tunnel widened into a small room, the ceiling just high enough for me to stand up straight and look around. The first thing I noted was the smell. It was rank and disgusting. Like a bathroom that hadn't been cleaned in forever.

A pile of filthy straw was against the wall, probably where she had slept. Bread bags with little bread left in them were piled up against the opposite wall. A bucket was placed close to the straw. I was afraid to look inside it but did anyway. I put a hand over my nose and mouth as I knelt down.

It was filled with vomit and excrement. That was probably what had drawn all the flies and made it smell so damn rank down there.

But, hell. There was a lot of vomit in that bucket. It was a pretty hefty bucket but it was still filled nearly to the brim. My own stomach rolled just thinking about how long she may have been this sick. I crawled out of the hole, pulling out my cellphone on the way up. I called Chief Takamura, telling him to clean out the hole that I'd found. "Have you caught the van?"

"We're still chasing it, sir. But we're closing in."

I smirked with satisfaction. Finally. Something was going my way. "Good. I want those bastards taken into custody and Kaydence taken straight to a hospital." I started walking back toward the car where Koharu was waiting for me to return.

–

"Well?" she called once she could see me. I kept silent, knowing the grim look on my face was all the explanation she would need. She faltered when she saw it. "It's not very good is it?" I shook my head solemnly as her shoulders sagged. She didn't break down and cry this time, for that I was thankful. But she did look incredibly sad.

"They'll catch the van," I muttered, having that same gut feeling I'd been getting frequently. No sooner had I said it than my phone started ringing furiously in my pocket. I scooped it out and flipped it open without even looking at the caller ID.

"Caught the suspicious vehicle and taking the suspect into custody." My heart dropped when I heard the singular suspect. Shit. Now we had to figure out what the new car they were using was.

"I'll be at the station in 10," I grumbled, shutting the phone with a snap.

– _Kaydence – _

I thought I was home for a moment. I was in a bed. A nice, warm, bed. I thought I was home and it had all just been a horrible dream. That it was the day of the ball and Annabeth was about to wake me up so I could go to school. I even thought that I was wearing my nice silk nightgown and that I was hugging my ginormous teddy bear while I slept.

If only, if only.

I opened my eye a tiny little crack and knew instantly that the entire kidnapping charade had, in fact, been real.

And that I was still living it.

I was in a small room. It was clean though, unlike my last two holding places. There was a small table by the bed that I was currently residing in that held a glass of clean, clear water and two little red pills on a tray with some applesauce and oatmeal. The walls were green and there were two doors. I slid out of bed and stumbled unstably over to the first of the two doors. I tried to turn the handle and found that it was locked.

Dammit. Just when I thought that things were finally looking up. I leaned against the wall as I made my way to the second one.

This one was open when I tried it, much to my surprise. It was a little bathroom. A stand-up shower in the corner that had shampoo stocked in it, a toilet, a sink, and a counter with a towel, a change of clothes that looked like they'd actually fit me decently, and a hairbrush stacked on it.

Why was I suddenly being treated like a 5-star guest? It made absolutely no sense. I'd been treated like a piece of shit up until this point. Why change it now?

Why did I even need to question it? I could easily nurse myself back to health this way. Even if it was ripped away from me later I would still be healthy once again. My legs were still weak so I half-dragged myself back to the bed and sat down. My head ached horribly and I still felt like I was about to barf.

That must be what the pills were for. I took them without even thinking that they might be poisonous, chugging the entire glass of water. I just about gagged them back up but somehow managed not to. I laid back down, pulling the applesauce off the tray and spooning it in my mouth carefully. It didn't upset my stomach quite as much as the bread back in the hole had. Of course it also was mostly a liquid-like substance so it went down easier.

I pulled the covers back over my body, all the way up to my chin, shivering slightly from being outside of them. I easily drifted back to sleep, feeling much more at ease than I had the entire time that I'd been trapped.

– _Kyoya – _

"Where. Is. She?" I asked again, drawing out each word carefully. This ignorant stupid bastard was getting on my nerves. I hadn't even bothered having an officer interrogate him. I preferred to torture the information I needed out of him myself.

He stayed stubbornly quiet as he had been doing. "I want a lawyer," he muttered yet again. I pounded my fist on the table.

"Not until I know where the hell Kaydence is!" I all but shouted in his face. I was denying him his rights. And I knew that. But, this man was just being ignorant. He knew that he was guilty. I knew that he was guilty. Any lawyer that he would choose would know he was guilty. Again, he stayed quiet. "Fine. Let's try a different question. What vehicle was she transported in tonight?" I had either of my arms braced against the table that was between us, my eyes staring him down.

"I told you. I want a bloody lawyer!"

I was about to yell again when the door opened and Koharu's face poked around the corner. I stared at her. We had agreed that she wouldn't show her face in the interrogation room so it wouldn't put her in any danger. I quickly strode over and slid outside with her. "Yes, Koharu?" I murmured.

"Don't deny him his rights. He could sue you for it," she muttered in a low voice. My eyes pierced hers. His brother had one of her best friends and she could stand to say that? She sighed in reply to my look. "I just don't want you getting sued for all that you're worth just because you got impatient, alright?"

I nodded with understanding and took her hand, squeezing it lightly, before turning on my heel and heading back into the room. "Alright. You want a lawyer?" I had the guards haul him up by the cuffs and take him downstairs again. "You'll get a lawyer."

–

An hour later I was getting very tired while sitting across the table from Alrod Smires and his lawyer. Said lawyer had a ton of credit to his name but not a lot of won cases. The idiot should have done his research better if he wanted to win against an Ohtori.

"Who hired you?" I asked, surprisingly for the first time.

"I don't know," he replied shortly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"He's your boss! How the hell could you not know who he is?" I glanced over at the one-way window where I knew Koharu was watching. I probably looked frustrated and tired to her, which was worrisome in her eyes.

"Arthur's the one that keeps track of everything!" he burst. He had long past the point of being incredibly irritated with me. Now he was just pissed. The feeling was mutual as far as I was concerned. But this was actually a rather valuable piece of information. It proved that Alrod was completely useless, but it told us that Alrod was more of pawn in this stupid game than the king or queen.

"Is that so?" I said softly. "I know that you know where he was headed, though. And I know that you know which vehicle he used to transport her." He looked away, staying stubbornly silent. "Look. I can keep this up all night. You may as well just tell me." He glanced at his lawyer this time.

"I'd appreciate if you'd stop threatening my client," he said, speaking for one of the first times since he had set foot in the room. I shifted my gaze to him.

"I'm not threatening him. He knows that he kidnapped my friend. I know that he did. I'm merely stated that I can keep doing this until he talks. I'm not threatening to cause him physical harm or anything of the sort," I stated calmly. I turned my eyes back to Alrod. He seemed to be sweating a lot. "Wouldn't you love to get all that off your chest? I can assure that whatever sentence the judge has in store for you will be halved if you just tell me where she is, what vehicle she was transported in, and who your boss is."

I knew it wouldn't be that easy. It never was. But I had to give it a shot. I did have the power to halve his sentence, if that could bribe the information out of him.

Unfortunately, he was silent. I'd had enough of this. I nodded to the guards. "Take him to the prison. I'll talk to him again tomorrow." They grabbed Alrod by either arm and escorted him out of the room. "Think about my offer," I called after him, snickering to myself. The lawyer soon scurried out of the room and down the hall, probably off to find some dirt on me in false hope.

Koharu was still staring hard through the glass into the interrogation room when I entered the room next door. I stood next to her for a moment, watching her and wondering when she was going to notice my presence. "He's lying," she said after awhile.

"Hmm?"

"He's lying about not knowing anything. He knows where she is. He knows who their boss is. He knows everything." She had this hard look on her face. And it was filled with this hateful rage. I'd never seen it on her face before. Her hands curled into fists at her sides. "That stupid bastard is lying."

I put my hands on her shoulders, attempting to calm her down. "How do you know?" I asked gently.

"I just know!" she burst. "He's sweating like a pig and his eyes are all shifty! How can you not see it?!"

I gripped her shoulder tighter, feeling her shake with anger and sadness. "Koharu," I whispered. She shook her head and buried her face in my chest, arms wrapping around me while mine snaked around her. "I know that he's lying," I murmured, "I know. And I know it makes you angry and sad and... hurt. But it's alright. I'll get the truth out of him. It might take me a bit but I'll do it. I promise you."

She moaned softly against my jacket and, if possible, pushed her head farther into my chest. "Why're you such a great boyfriend?" she mumbled. I chuckled lightly under my breath.

– _Kaydence – _

I woke to a soft hand on my forehead. I opened my eyes, blinking blearily against the fluorescent light that was filling the room. Once again, I thought that I was home as I stared at the person sitting next to my bed.

It wasn't Arthur.

Or Alrod.

Or even some unknown nurse.

A boy with startling blue eyes that I knew so well. His shiny dark hair was longer than I remembered it. His skin was tanned rather dark. The part that got me was that I knew him. I'd known him for 6 years now. I didn't know how or why he was here. But he was here and it filled me with relief. "What're you doing here?" I croaked, feeling my lips curve into a smile.

He ignored my question. "How do you feel?" he asked.

I was dizzy. My head hurt. I was having my own gymnastics competition in my stomach. "Pretty shitty," I admitted with a laugh. Please, dear_ God_, don't let this be a dream that I was about to be shaken awake from. "But what on earth are you doing here? Did they get you too?"

"You could say that," he murmured, stroking my hair. This made me frown. They had captured him and allowed him to see me? That didn't make any sense. It didn't make any sense at all. And I could tell he was hiding something from me. His eyes were guarded. He never hid anything from me.

"I missed you. And my parents. And Pierce. And Annabeth," I whispered, squeezing his hand lightly.

He nodded. "You're safe now, Kay," he breathed, pressing his lips against my forehead as the door burst open. He turned around, looking absolutely furious at the person standing in the doorway. I craned my neck to see who it was. Arthur. Arthur Smires. "I thought I told you that she was to be taken care of!" he snapped irritably, his hand still grasping mine.

That didn't fit either. _He _shouldn't be the one giving orders to either of those bastards. And it didn't end there. "I told you, no. I _ordered _you to keep her safe and healthy. Does _this _look healthy?" he gestured to my pale face and sickly demeanor.

"No," Arthur grumbled, looking slightly frightened of the teenager standing in front of him.

None of this made any sense. My mind was racing, trying to come up with explanations to the vast amount of information my brain was receiving.

"I should have you killed," he continued in a growl, "And Alrod," he gave a sarcastic, bitter snort, "Alrod, getting captured. I should have you both killed."

Now I was starting to see it. But it still didn't make any sense to me. And he never acted like this. He never threatened other people. Who was this? What had he done with the boy that I knew?

"Sorry, Boss," Arthur mumbled, his voice actually sounding apologetic for once.

Everything in my mind clicked. I stared up at the dark haired 17-year-old with horror. _He _was their boss? Why the bloody hell would he kidnap _me_? He didn't need money. He had his own business waiting for him when he turned 18. I felt my open mouth start to tremble as I looked for words.

He glanced back at me. I felt like I was about to cry again. I'd trusted him. I would have given my fucking life for him. And _he _had betrayed me. Betrayed me in the worst possible way he could. There was no explanation that he could possibly give now that would make me forgive him. "Get out of my sight," he spat, "I'll deal with you later." Arthur nodded and bowed his way out of the room.

I continued to stare at him, feeling bitter, hate-filled words on my tongue. "I need to leave," he said softly, like Arthur had never been in the room. "I'll be back later."

"Don't bother," I bit out through my shock. It was horribly bitter. He winced visibly at my words.

"Kaydence," he started.

I cut him off before he could continue, "Don't talk to me. Ever again. You bloody backstabber." I wanted to scream at him. Make him feel my pain for what he had put me through. But I held it back. Harsh, calm words always hurt more than loud, hysterical ones. He nodded numbly and turned his back on me. I glared after him.

When he reached the door I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed. I screamed and screamed for all that I was worth. I hoped that my words stung him. I hoped that they ripped his entire being to shreds like his betrayal had torn mine. And as I screamed I felt tears run down my face. It hurt. Everything hurt suddenly. Like he had just set off miniature dynamite sticks all over my body. But most of all my chest hurt. My chest ached when I breathed. It hurt to feel anything at all. He was the one person I had been able to count on for 6 years and now I'd just lost him.

"HOW COULD YOU? I TRUSTED YOU! I FUCKING _TRUSTED_ YOU AND YOU BLOODY _BETRAYED _ME! HOW COULD YOU, _TATE_? _HOW COULD YOU?_"

–

**A/N: I just about had a heart attack after writing 4 pages of this chapter. My sister momentarily stole my computer and her evil fingers made it blue screen. Damn. I thought I had lost all four of those beautifully written pages. Thank you OpenOffice document recovery! **

**Anyway... Kudos to~: KageNoNeko, thearistocrat, JiaKiyokiAi, Moonstarr394, Kiriyu-chan, and Koharu Veddette! Double to thearistocrat for guessing who the boss was correctly! This was another one of those times that I checked my email and I just about cried with happiness. Only this time I was logged on and reading them as they came in. **

**I'd hate to be in Alrod's position. Somehow the idea of a pissed-off Kyoya interrogating me isn't a very pretty picture. **


	9. Alrod & Monster

_Like a Cloud in the Wind_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 9 – Alrod/Monster_

– _Kyoya – _

I let the stupid bastard rot in prison for awhile instead of immediately interrogating him. Let him think about my offer for awhile. "You can't hold him if he isn't being convicted of anything!" his lawyer tried to convince me a few days after the first interrogation attempt. Obviously, this man was a rookie. I was walking down a hall in the police station at that moment, but stopped and spun around at these words.

"You think I don't have enough reason to hold him? He was caught driving a suspected van. Said van holds evidence that a _kidnapped_ 16-year-old girl was held and transported in it. He's automatically a suspect in this crime due to this fact. I have every reason to hold him," I stated sharply.

The lawyer blinked in shock. If he were smart he'd have a witty comeback about me being an underage rich kid trying to play detective. But, alas, he wasn't. Too bad. I could use a bit of debate practice. Instead he grumbled and turned around, striding angrily in the opposite direction.

I smirked as the idiot left and turned back around. If there were more lawyers like that, Haruhi would have no problems being one of the most excellent lawyers around.

–

Nearly a week after that little encounter with Alrod's lawyer I got a message from the guards that were present at his cell. The brute was requesting my presence. I had him taken to the interrogation room after I got out of school.

I made a note at the top of my notebook that it was October 21st. I knew I was going to get something out of this bastard this time. Koharu was, once again, hidden behind the one-way glass when I strode into the room confidently. She'd be able to confirm if he was lying or not. "Think about my offer?" I asked pleasantly. He nodded, staring at the table in front of him and refusing to look at me.

He probably thought that he was betraying his brother. Betrayal was the only way to get anything out of him though. His betrayal would be Kaydence's benefit. "Let's start at the beginning then shall we?" I said softly, "What is your name?"

"Alrod Smires," he replied stiffly.

"And your brother is Arthur Smires, escaped convict, correct?" He nodded numbly. "Did you assist him in kidnapping Kaydence Malronda?"

"Is that her name?" he retorted. "I just know her as the girl that frequently pisses off Arthur." I smirked inwardly at that, making sure to keep my outer face completely neutral. That sounded like Kaydence.

"Did you harm her in any way while she was in your care?" Again, I had to force myself to keep my face as straight as I possibly could. If he had taken any part in the physical harm that would give me all the more reason to throw him in jail for the rest of his life. Even if it meant violating my promise to him.

"I... might've," he mumbled.

I felt my jaw tighten. "Yes or no?"

"I might've sliced her hands a bit when I cut her bindings loose," he admitted sourly. He just hated having to tell the truth. My jaw tightened more. Bastard had probably taken pleasure in hurting her too. I scribbled on my notebook, making sure to keep the words out of his sight.

"The last time you saw her how was her health?"

He swallowed. "Not well. But she was trying to kick Arthur in his nether regions so she must have been slightly better than she looked. She'd been chucking up her food since we moved her to the hole, though." I glanced briefly at the window, knowing Koharu was listening to this. I could just imagine her with her hand over her mouth in horror.

"Do you know what kind of vehicle was used to transport her from the hole?" I asked stiffly. This was what I expected him to lie about.

Sure enough, he hesitated. "You guarantee that you'll halve my sentence if I tell you the truth?" he asked apprehensively.

"On my word," I replied solemnly.

Still, he hesitated. "Yes," he finally murmured.

"What kind of vehicle was it?"

"A 1987 Oldsmobile 88," he grumbled reluctantly. My offer must have been pretty damn enticing. He was just spilling everything. It was good for me. If he was lying the slightest bit though it would be very bad for him.

"Color?"

"Midnight blue." I knew Koharu was on my computer at that very moment searching for the registrars on any car like that in Japan. We were going to nab these bastards this time. Midnight blue Oldsmobile's were more common in America. Here they were almost as rare as you could get.

"And where did you acquire this car?"

"Our boss supplied it for us. I think he went to a used car dealership somewhere in Sendai and picked it up for us." He seemed unsure of this fact. "Like I said before, Arthur knows more details than I do." Arthur may know the nitty-gritty details but he knew the basics.

"Do you know where Kaydence was taken in this car?"

"No," he said, sounding very convincing. I glanced at the glass again. I couldn't read Koharu's mind to tell me whether I should press him more or not, unfortunately. I pressed him anyway.

"You don't even know a general area?"

He was hesitating again. I knew it. He knew where she was. "I know... that there was it's a warehouse. I'm not exactly sure though."

"Where were you supposed to meet up with Arthur when you lost the police that caught you?"

"A secluded bar in Ishinomaki."

"Is it possible that she could be there somewhere then?"

"Perhaps. I doubt it though. Arthur was going to lead me to the real place while the girl was still passed out in the back." This was getting tedious.

"You're absolutely _sure _that you don't know where she was being taken?" He shook his head, no. He sure was talking a lot now. "Alright. Next question. Who hired you?"

He groaned loudly. "I don't know his real name," he muttered, avoiding my eyes again. "I could tell you what he looks like and his fake name but I wouldn't be able to tell you his real name."

"That would suffice," I said quietly.

"I'm not even that sure of what he looks like. I've only met him once. And that was in the dark," he pointed out. I shrugged nonchalantly and prompted him onward. "Male Caucasian with dark hair. British or American accent, he switched between the two often during our short conversation. Alias of Matte Hirostens. And I swear on my parents' graves that's all I know." It was a start. Now we knew who the bank account belonged to. It was irksome that we didn't know the bastard's real name but we had a vague outline of what he looked like. And the fact that he was Caucasian would narrow down the line of suspects.

"Anything else you'd like to share?" Leave the ending open for him. Give him a last chance to tell some inkling of information that we needed.

"I'd search warehouses north of Ishinomaki if I were you," he said. That was exactly the kind of vague clue I needed to get started. "Can I ask a question?" I mulled it over in my head for a moment before nodding. "Why are you the ones looking for her instead of her parents?"

I stayed quiet. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I retorted. Her parents were looking for her too. They were just being vastly unsuccessful in doing it. This was going to be a big break though. As soon as I reported this to Layne, we'd easily be able to narrow down the suspects and locations. Or so I thought.

– _Kaydence – _

Tate didn't come back. He was smart and stayed away from me. Arthur was the one that helped nurse me back to health. It was only out of fear of his boss though. Still, I hated his guts a bit less because of it.

I slept a ton and hardly ate anything, despite Arthur's attempts to force food down my throat. It wasn't even that the food made me sick anymore that made me not eat. I was completely thrown by Tate's betrayal. I hadn't expected it at all. And it still made no sense as to _why _he would do such a thing. I was depressed, you could say.

When the day finally came that I could eat without chucking it back up, I was relieved. So was Arthur. We spent most of the time in silence or arguing about whether I was going to eat today or not. But today... today I asked him a question. "What's the date?"

Arthur was completely silent. "I can't tell you that," he growled after a few moments.

"You sent a ransom note to my father on September 26th. It has to be at least October 11th now. And I know I was in that bloody hole for around four weeks." He left the room to avoid answering me. I ran a hand through my hair. Dammit, was I going to get any answers? I tried to do the math in my head but I had no clue how many days I'd been in the 5-star room, as I now liked to call it. There were no windows, like the storage room.

I sighed and laid back down on my bed. This was absolutely ridiculous. I was bored as hell now too. I stared up at the ceiling, contemplating what Tate's plan for me could possibly be. Why would he have done this? What was he going to do with me?

He had _sounded _like he still cared about me when he spoke to me. But I couldn't believe that anyone who cared about their best friend in the slightest would kidnap and hold them for ransom.

For Pete's sake he was like a brother to me! My family had taken him into our fucking home when his parents had died in that stupid plane crash after the plane had been hijacked and the engine failed.

I failed to notice the door open and close while I was ranting in my head. That is until a voice spoke. "Do you hate me, Kay?" I sat bolt-upright, glaring at Tate apprehensively. Yes, I hated him. There was once I time when I had loved him like a brother, but now he had gone too far.

"Yes," I hissed, "And you aren't allowed to call me by that nickname anymore. Only my true friends and family are." He stared at me hard. This look was on his face that I'd never seen before. Like he completely loathed me yet regretted what he had done at the same time. But most of all, I noticed that his blue eyes were cold like ice. He had never looked at me with those ice eyes. They had been directed at others, but never me. His eyes had always held warmth when looking at me.

"If you would let me explain..."

I cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "There isn't a fucking explanation in the entire universe that could make me forgive you for what you've done to me, Tate." I kept my voice level and cold, but also let a tiny glimpse of my hurt show. There really wasn't anything that he could say that would convince me that he wasn't a backstabbing bastard.

The cold look in his eyes took on a bit of fiery rage. "Why?" he spat.

"You _kidnapped _me. I trusted you more than anyone on the bloody planet and you _kidnapped _me," I growled in reply.

He shook his head. "I have my reasons," he muttered. I let out a doubtful snort.

"Right. And what would that be? You have everything you need, Tate. It's either provided by _my _family, whom you've also betrayed, or it's waiting for you when you turn 18. Now, you've just screwed over your chances of ever redeeming yourself."

"He killed my parents," he said in a low voice.

"Who?"

"Your father!" he said, his voice slowly rising, "Your father, Kay! He killed my parents so he could 'adopt' me and take what was rightfully mine! He's a greedy bastard, your father."

I scoffed. Like my father would ever do that. He was a manipulator, sure. But there was no way that he would kill anyone for wealth. There was no way he would kill another person for anything. "They died in a plane crash!" I yelled, "Get over it! Besides! You won't bring them back by taking my father's money!"

He stared at me again, his entire frame shaking with anger. "Shut up! Shut up, Kaydence! You don't understand!" he shouted.

"I understand perfectly fine! Understand that you're a bloody lunatic!" I screamed back. His angered face grew completely blank.

"I made sure that you were safe," he stated, voice deathly calm.

I snorted. "Safe, my ass! Do you have any clue how many times I've had a gun trained on me in that last month?" I shrieked. He'd made me lose my temper. Now there was no way in hell that I was going to calm down while he was still in the bloody room.

"_At least you're alive!_" he yelled, turning around and heading straight back out the door. He slammed it behind him, making the entire room shake. I glared after him. He'd ruined our friendship. He'd ruined our entire relationship. The fucking bastard. I wished he would die. I wanted him dead and forgotten. I slammed my fist down on the bedside table.

I wanted to scream and tear my hair out like a child, but I held back. I was _not _a child. Nor, would I act like one.

–

I seemed to have angered Tate more than I thought I had. Food stopped coming. As did the changes of clothes. I still had my black shawl and green dress from the night of the ball but those were in filthy rags by now. Not even Arthur came to visit me anymore.

My stomach hurt horribly. I was starting to regret making Tate angry. But there was no way in hell that I was going to apologize. Everything I had screamed at him had been perfectly true. Everything I had said I'd meant. I wasn't going to take it back, even if he pointed a gun at my head an threatened to kill me.

My throat was parched and my stomach empty every time that I curled up and went to sleep now. I let my mind shut down though. Made it not admit the stabbing pain emitting from my stomach from the hunger that I now felt. I curled up and slept, praying to be home the next time that I woke up, yet somehow knowing that it would never be true.

– _Kyoya – _

We found the car before anything else. The blue Oldsmobile was, as Alrod had said, registered to Matte Hirostens. It had been purchased in a used car lot in Sendai with the little money that had been in the bank account already. So far, all of Alrod's information was coming through.

The problem was finding which damned warehouse it was that was holding Kaydence. There had to be hundreds of them north of Ishinomaki. Ones used for storage. Ones used by businesses. Ones used for shipping. There were simply too many of them.

It was frustrating. And we couldn't just storm every single one of them. It would take too long, over a year, I estimated. We had a little over a month. A month until Layne would be forced to pay the ransom or find his daughter dead.

The other problem was finding the boss. He was a sneaky little rat. Less than 100,000 Caucasians were currently legal citizens of Japan. Half of those were American or British. Approximately half of those were male. 25,000 possibilities. If you took away Kaydence's relatives that number dropped by 3. I knew for a fact that Koharu was half-Italian, half-Japanese and Kaydence was half-British, half-Italian with a more pronounced British heritage. Koharu's family, whoever they were, weren't going to be a factor in this. And I automatically assumed that Kaydence's wouldn't do anything like this.

24,997 possibilities. Was it even worth trying?

I cut out the males of rich lineage from the list that also weren't enemies of the Malrondas. That took care of a good 1,000.

23,997 possibilities.

I let out a loud groan of frustration. I'd been at this for over two hours. Koharu was watching me, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips. I closed my eyes and rested my head against my bed's headboard. I yawned and opened one eye to glance at the clock.

_12:48 AM. _

"Hell. I was supposed to have you home 3 hours ago wasn't I?" I asked Koharu. She nodded, shrugging.

"Yuigo knows that we're working. He won't tell Dad. Though, I'm slightly worried about what he ate for dinner." She frowned again. I chuckled lightly and stretched my arms over my head.

"Alright," I muttered, yawning. "I give up for the night." I saved my files and notes on my computer and then a backup copy on the flash-drive that was jutting out of one of my computer's USB drives. "Come on. I should get you home. Your Uncle would be furious if he knew you were still here. Dunno about your Dad though." I'd never met her parents. I didn't even know any of her other family members besides her twin brother. And she refused to tell me anything, still.

She shrugged, biting her lip. "Does it bug you that I won't tell you anything?" she asked softly.

I nodded. "A bit. It's your choice though," I murmured, sliding my computer onto the mattress next to me and pushing myself off the bed. In all truth it actually bugged me more than 'a bit' that she wouldn't tell me anything about her family or her past. But I didn't want to press her for anything she didn't want to willingly give up anyway.

She sighed and stood up, waiting for me by the door as I got my shoes back on. I wondered if Tachibana or Hotta were even awake right now. I knew one of my three bodyguards were up at all times, the problem was figuring out which one was at the time that I needed them.

Koharu looked worn out, as I probably did. And we still had to go to school at 7:30. I walked towards her sluggishly, pulling out my cellphone to call the guards office. "Yes. Car out front please," I muttered, taking Koharu's hand and leaving my bedroom.

–

Progress on the case was slow for the next week. I picked Koharu up for school, acting pleasant as to not worry her when in all reality I wanted to go back to bed. I'd once again stayed up into the early morning hours, working. She looked tired and more stressed everyday that we found nothing to help her cousin's situation.

She seemed perfectly fine until Club hours came around.

It was really all Renge's fault. I was working on club profits and brainstorming madly for ideas for the case when Renge came in, hiding behind a pillar. Of course, the room full of idiots directed their attention solely on her for awhile. I had an inkling of information on who she was before she introduced herself. I knew the daughters of one of Father's business partners was going to start at Ouran today, I just wasn't completely sure what she looked like.

I ignored her while the rest of the members seemed to fawn over her. I glanced at Koharu with a small smile on my face. Her lips twitched upwards. "Anything?" she mouthed. I shook my head. She sighed and looked back out the window.

It was when Renge unexpectedly tackled me that Koharu started to lose it. "I always wanted to meet you!" she exclaimed. I blinked hard. What the hell? I looked at my girlfriend again. She looked like she wanted to rip Renge to shreds. I sighed. I'd probably have a lot of explaining to do.

–

"Fiancée?" Hikaru and Koaru asked at the same time. I felt a vein in my temple bulge a little, but kept my temper down. This woman. She'd barely known me for 5 seconds and now she was claiming me to be her fiancé and was angering Koharu, whom Mori was currently holding back.

It took Koharu moments to break away from Mori. "What?!" she shrieked. "_Your _fiancé? What the hell?! Since when?!" I winced inwardly as her gaze turned to me. Should've seen that coming. She stared at me like she didn't know me for a moment.

"Since the moment we fell in love!" Renge proclaimed, her eyes practically turning into hearts as she went off on a rant about our 'love story.' Now this was just getting out of hand.

I coughed and excused myself, taking Koharu by the arm to lead her to the kitchen before she could rage at Renge more. "Kyoya! What...?" she trailed off, completely flabbergasted. "How can she be your fiancée?" Her eyes looked lost. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Now she just looked pathetic.

I sighed and pushed her hair behind her ears. "I don't believe I ever acknowledged that flimsy rumor," I murmured, tilting her head up to look into her eyes.

She didn't seem to take in what I said, looking down at her shoes. "She's just the kind of person your father would set you up with though," she mumbled to herself, "Rich foreigner of a business partner. But why wouldn't you t—?"

"Koharu," I cut into her thoughts gently, "I never acknowledged it did I?"

She looked up into my eyes and muttered a simple, "No."

"Then why on earth are you freaking out?" I asked softly, pulling her head to my chest. "_You're _my girlfriend, Koharu. _She's _an otaku." This was probably all brought on by stress. She normally kept a cap on her temper, one side of her that wasn't like Kaydence. "Are you that stressed out?" I added quietly. She pulled away and looked up at me.

"What?"

"You're stressed out about Kaydence. You wouldn't have exploded like that if it were merely jealousy," I explained, gazing down at her with a smirk on my face. "But the fact that you were jealous is pretty cute." A light blush painted her cheeks at this comment, making my smirk widen into a grin.

That disaster was now averted, for the most part.

– _Kaydence – _

I was starving. Honestly, how long had it been since I had eaten? I moaned softly into the pillow my head was rested on, holding my stomach. I was so hungry I was nauseous again. Just when my health had gotten better and now it was declining again. Just what I needed.

"I'll feed you if you take it back," _his _voice came from the doorway.

"Never," I spat before I could stop myself. My brain was on autopilot for sharp comebacks, dammit.

"I guess you'll starve yourself to death then," he said pleasantly with a cold edge to his voice and he was gone, locking the bloody door behind him.

What was wrong with him? He acted like he cared one moment, like he was still my best friend/brother. The next he was screaming at me. Bipolar, much? And even after that he was now acting all cold and distant, which he rarely did unless he was _really _upset with me. That hadn't happened in over 3 years.

I knew the answer. He wasn't the boy I'd met 6 years ago in grade school anymore. He was a monster.

–

**A/N: A few side notes: **

**1987 Oldsmobile 88s are real cars. My grandparents owned one and my dad inherited it from them when my grandpa died 5 years ago. Whether or not they made them in midnight blue I'm not real sure. I sure as hell haven't ever seen them in another color other than red or silver. But I wanted to make sure it was a rare car to narrow down the possibilities. **

**The estimate on Caucasian population in Japan isn't very accurate. I tried looking it up but I didn't get any set numbers or percentages, unfortunately. So I guessed based on what I had found. **

**Tate's full British but converted between American accents and British ones to better hide his identity when talking to the Smires brothers. **

**Tate M. Shireston scrambled is Matte Hirostens. I came up with that by myself. Nifty, huh? **

**The entire Renge-side-story thing is mainly filler. Trying to prolong time so the plot doesn't move _too _fast. It was completely Koharu's idea to add it in there. Which leads me to once again thank my wonderful beta reader and to smother her with many many Kudos. **

**There. Got that out of the way. Now. Time to hand out those MUF-Kudos~ **

**thearistocrat, KageNoNeko, Rixiroo, Moonstarr394, and Koharu Veddette! Step on up! (List's still pretty big despite the fact that this was a _really _fast update.)**

**I had a heart attack again while writing this one. I went babysitting and forgot to plug my computer in before I left and came back to find it dead. I thought I'd lost everything! **


	10. Virus & Dementia

_Like a Cloud in the Wind _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 10 – Virus/Dementia_

**A/N: It's so odd for me to think that this story's already reached 10 chapters. Anyway. On with it!**

– _Kyoya – _

We found the Oldsmobile abandoned in a parking lot in Akita. Smart man. There were a ton of warehouses in use and abandoned that had once been used for old factories or storage. It would have been extremely easy to hide a sickly 16-year-old in that very city.

Finding the stupid vehicle had taken over a week. It's was the 29th of October. Less than a month left and we'd hit another dead end. Whoever the boss was, he had to be rather new to the criminal business. He had no record under his alias, Matte Hirostens. Police normally found out all known aliases for people once they were convicted and after that it was pretty hard to get a new one since your face would be remembered by citizen registrars everywhere.

Whoever this guy was, he was smart. But that didn't mean that I couldn't outsmart him.

– _Kaydence – _

When Tate came by again, I don't remember what happened. I know that I was still pissed at him. I was horribly, bitterly pissed at him. I still wanted him dead. But he was being all gentle again. Like he really cared and wanted me to be happy, no matter how trapped I was. I glared at his every move. He stared back at me fearlessly, smiling sadly the entire time. I shoveled applesauce and oatmeal into my mouth at the speed of light while I still had it, not knowing whether I'd chuck it up again later.

"I wish you could understand," he murmured as he sat by my bed. "I meant you no harm. It was Layne I was trying to get at."

I thought it better if I stayed silent.

"Honestly Kaydence, he killed my parents. It was one of his agents that hijacked the plane and caused the engine to fail."

"How do you know that?" I asked angrily. I was convinced that my father, as demanding and heartless as he seemed, was a good man. He cared about his family and his friends. Lillian and General Shireston had been two of his best friends. Why the hell would he have wanted them killed, even if it was, as Tate said, to take away their family fortune? Nothing made any sense. His excuses were flimsy and unreasonable.

"I... I just know. Do you really think that your parents would be so lenient to have me in their home for any other reason?"

"Yes, actually. You're the only son of Lillian and General Shireston, Tate. They were Father's _best friends_. It would only make sense for him to take in their son," I spat in reply. You idiot, open your eyes!

"You don't think he could have been using the best friends ploy as a cover to get to them?" he retorted skeptically. I threw my hands in the air and turned over.

"Get the fuck out," I grumbled, "You're impossible to bloody talk to, anymore." He sighed and leaned down to kiss my cheek. That was too much for me. I'd been holding back punching him since the moment that he walked in the room. But now he had just gone too far. I whirled around, curling my hand into a fist, and gave him a big fat sucker right in the nose. "Don't touch me," I hissed.

He stumbled back, gasping and cupping both hands around his injured nose. "Oww. Jesus, Kay. Were you trying to break my nose?"

"Depends," I retorted icily, "Did it work? And I thought I told you, you weren't _allowed _to call my Kay anymore."

He glared at me around his hands. Blood was seeping through his fingers. I had to smirk at my work. Now I knew how Alrod felt when he had sliced my hands up. That had definitely been a really nice stress release. I hardly even cared about the consequences. I'd eaten enough while acting civil with him to last me awhile.

"You," he started, his low voice shaking with anger. He cleared his throat and started again, "You're going to regret that, _Malronda_."

"Oh? Am I _Shireston_?" I growled in reply. We glared at each other for a moment. His hands were getting drowned in the blood pouring from his, most likely broken, nose. "I'd run along and fix that if I were you," I added snidely. The bastard deserved it.

He leaned in close, giving me the urge to give him a black eye to go with his swollen nose. "You... Are _never _going to be free. I'm going to keep you here until you die," he rumbled threateningly.

"Try me," I retaliated, staring hard at him with as much hate as I could muster in my entire being. If looks could kill, I wanted mine to make him drop dead right in front of me, screaming in agony and begging for mercy. I could put up with anything that he threw at me. Even if he did end up killing me when this was all over. I wanted him to know that he wouldn't win. I'd fight until the very end of this fucking charade. I was going to be the one that walked out of here alive. And when I did, I was going to leave his corpse in the dust.

– _Kyoya – _

"We have to keep everything for the investigation between Koharu and I from now on," I murmured, sitting in front of Kaydence's family. "Just to ensure that whoever the hell keeps warning those bastards that we're coming doesn't catch on again." Layne looked extremely unhappy with this idea as did Felicity.

"You don't think it could be one of your bloody officers?" Pierce asked, sounding slightly angered himself. He'd been on edge since Arthur had escaped at the hole with his sister in the back of his car. I didn't blame him, honestly.

"The officers that I entrust with any of my information have been working for my family for years. They know better than to betray us like that. Besides, whoever this 'Boss' is, he's either British or American. Most of my officers are Asian," I answered coolly. Pierce didn't seem convinced in the slightest. Tate had been glaring at me since the moment he had set foot in the room 5 minutes ago.

"You think one of us might have kidnapped her?" Layne asked in a low voice.

"I'm not accusing anyone. And I'm not trying to insult you by claiming that you'd kidnap your own family member. I'm just being cautious," I said, trying to sound reassuring. "Honestly, I don't want these guys to get away again."

"And how do we know _you _weren't the one that did this?" the deep voice of Shireston spoke up. I glared at him. He hadn't really seemed phased by the fact that his best friend had been missing for almost 2 months. He never seemed to be affected by it at all. Koharu already said that she never saw what Kaydence had seen in him. He actually was more into going out with Arisa than finding her, which was odd. Of my observations of the Kay and Tate they'd seemed really close, almost couple-like.

"If I were behind all this," I uttered coldly, "why would I be looking so hard for her and coming so close only to lose her?" Koharu's face was blank as she stared at my hard expression. I didn't like Tate. At all. And he didn't particularly like me either. Why? I had no clue. I'd never done anything to harm any way that his life was lived.

We glared at each other for a moment before Koharu cleared her throat loudly. "Kyoya. We should get going don't you think? Lots of work to do," she said, her teeth clenched in a way that told me to shut up and go along with it. I nodded once, standing.

"You'll have your daughter home before the ransom deadline," I told Layne, staring him straight in the eye as I made that promise. "I'm _going _to outsmart this bastard." He nodded once, dismissing me.

–

As soon as I was home I pulled out my computer and got to work. I was already exhausted due to Tamaki being so extremely eccentric with the theme and the stress that was already being placed on me by Kaydence's disappearance. I pressed and held the power button, watching the screen boot up pleasantly. I typed in my complicated log in password, the screen coming alive once I pressed enter.

I was about to open the coded file of case notes and evidence logged when a shrieking beep emitted from the laptop. I covered my ears quickly as the sharp noise assaulted my eardrums, watching the screen drop to pitch black. A second later it turned bright blue with white text, moving so fast I couldn't read any of it, running down.

A second later it fizzled bright white, changed to black and flashed the word _TERMINATED _in white before shutting down completely.

I stared at the blank screen. What had just happened?

I pushed the power button, thinking it was a minor malfunction. It half booted before it flashed the same _TERMINATED _message and shut down again.

"Shit," I muttered to myself, "that's definitely not good."

– _Kaydence – _

"That Ohtori bastard seems to like you a lot," Tate's voice floated over from the doorway, his voice bitter and full of absolute loathing. I glared in his direction, not bothering to sit up from my current position on the bed. His nose was swollen and bandaged, I noted smugly.

"He doesn't like me," I spat, "Anyone with eyes can see that."

Tate snorted. "He's still a bastard. He also seems to like you enough to keep looking, though he'll never find you." He was fiddling with something in his hands. "No, the only way he'll find you is if you're a dead corpse on his doorstep," he added softly, this demented grin crossing over his face as I finally realized what he had in his hands. It was a pocket knife with a stainless steel blade of about 5 inches. That could do some serious damage.

"At least he's better than you. In fact, I think he's twice the person than you could ever be," I retorted, staring at the blade in his hands apprehensively. He took a step forward. I jumped into sitting position on the bed, readying myself to fight him if I had to.

"A little jittery aren't you, Kaydence?" he asked with a cold laugh. "Yes, but you have good reason for that, don't you? I could easily take this knife here and stab you straight in the heart."

I swallowed, eying that bloody knife like my life depended on it. "You're crazy, Shireston," I whispered, "You're fucking crazy."

"What makes you say that?" he asked innocently, "Is it because you don't understand the workings of a broken heart?" I stared at him, my hair covering my eyes a little.

"W-What're you talking about?"

"Have you ever had your heart broken, Kaydence? Did Ohtori break your heart? Is that why you left?" He took another step forward. I slid against the wall, my knees on the mattress.

"You don't know what happened that night," I said, keeping my voice level. "Don't even try to understand what happened because you can't. It gets all twisted up in your sick little mind."

"You love him don't you?" Another step. I crept to the end of the bed.

"No." I kept my eyes on his hands and the blasted knife he was holding. "He's only... He's only a friend."

"Are you sure about that?" Step. I lifted my leg over the foot board and placed my foot flat on the floor.

"Yes." He was pissing me off. I could just feel my voice starting to rise inside me. He was _trying _to get a radical reaction out of me. If I had thought the Ass Duo were bastards, Tate was the demented cherry on top.

"Why did you kiss him then?" My jaw tightened. How dare he bring that up? How did he even know about it? He lifted his foot and placed it back down. I was a mere three steps from standing directly in front of me. I pulled myself over the headboard so I was standing with both feet on the floor.

"Shut up," I said, voice low and dangerous.

"Why did you kiss him if you don't lo–?"

"Shut up!" I yelled at him. "You bloody stalker!"

He laughed. The bastard laughed. "_Stalker? _You think I'm a _stalker_? I've lived under the shadow of your bloody family for _three years_. And you think _I'm _the stalker?" I didn't get how the two were related. He only had a year left with us. The moment he turned 18 he could do as he pleased.

"You're a fucking lunatic," I repeated, shifting my eyes to his face and back to the blade nervously. He _was _crazy. Connecting two completely unrelated things. I blinked and he was instantly in front of me, knife at my throat. His free hand had my wrist trapped against the wall. He was standing in such a way that his knife arm was keeping my other hand pinned to my side. I closed my eyes, swallowing. "I'm... I'm not afraid of you." I whispered, opening my eyes and staring straight into his.

"You should be," he growled, releasing me to slide down the wall to the floor. He left again without another word. I drew my knees to my chest, hugging them tightly. I rocked myself back and forth, eyelids fluttering closed.

I had to get out of here.

– _Kyoya – _

"Koharu? Do you have the case flash-drive?" I asked her, frowning as I held the phone to my ear. Damn computer had gotten a virus, as I found out after finally being able to get on and found everything wiped clean right before it shut off again. I was now very thankful that I had saved everything to the USB device that I kept in my bag.

The problem was it wasn't where it was supposed to be.

"No," she replied, the frown that was sure to be on her face clearly showing in her voice. "Can you not find it?"

I rubbed my temples. Great. Just great. "Unfortunately. I could've sworn that it was in my bag while we were at school."

"Can't you use the stuff on your computer?" I stiffened.

"Why do you think that I'm asking if you have it?" I asked softly, "My computer's permanently out of commission. It caught a virus. Wiped everything on it." This ticked me off more than anything. Now I'd have to recollect all the club profits and costs again.

"So, where the hell could that flash-drive be?"

I'd been running theories through my head. It may have fallen out at some point throughout the day, but nothing had been there when I checked the school's lost and found. I'd even searched the limo I'd taken home.

I may have misplaced it. But that was very unlikely. The last time that I had lost something by misplacement had been years ago.

The third theory I'd come up with was that someone may have stolen it. The only reason that I could think of for someone to steal it would be if they knew what was on it and it would affect them in some way. Meaning, whoever had stolen it would have to be Matte Hirostens.

I hesitated in telling Koharu this. "Well. It could have fallen out of my bag, though I've checked everywhere. I could have misplaced it, but _that _is so unlikely that it's almost not an option," I paused, wondering if I should tell her.

"You think... It may have been stolen?" she asked hesitantly. I closed my eyes.

"Perhaps," I murmured, "In fact it's most likely. Do you know what that means?"

"Whoever took it, is the Boss. Meaning, Matte Hirostens is someone we know," she worked it out out loud.

I nodded. "Yes. That's what I thought."

"It's narrowed down then to every British or American exchange student in the entire school, any servants," she paused, probably realizing at the same time that I was, "or Kaydence's family."

"That would be correct," I said quietly.

"Oh, my God," she whispered, "Can you make a list?"

"Not without my computer."

"Dammit," she muttered.

"I can get a new one ordered and shipped. But it will probably take at least a week to get here." I was already running through the names of all the British or American students in our class. There was only 4 including Kaydence, but in the entire school, if you assumed that there were 4 per class, 4 classes per grade.

That came out to 48. Plus the two British teachers, one American, Layne, and Pierce. 53, but that was assuming all 48 exchange students were male. I groaned to myself. "There's approximately 48 British and American exchange students in the entire school and three teachers."

She let out a loud groan. "There's no way that you can get the information sooner?"

"No one I know has a computer that can acce–," I broke off. Tamaki. The chairman could easily give us a class list.

"Kyoya?"

"I'll call you back," I muttered, pushing end and pressing Tamaki's speed dial. She was probably going to be mad about that later, but this was important. It took Tamaki two rings to answer.

"Kyoya! Whatever would Mother be calling me for?!" he exclaimed. I could feel a headache coming.

"Tamaki. Do you think you could get a class list for the entire school from your father?" I interrupted his ongoing speech.

He stopped abruptly. "Eh? Why?"

I hesitated. "Someone stole the USB I had case notes stored on. And my computer contracted a virus," I finally said.

"Ahh. Well, I think I could manage that!" he said cheerfully.

"If you could do it as soon as possible..." I trailed off. He would get it done. He may be an idiot but he was reliable when his task was important.

"Of course!" He was about to go off about commoners but I interrupted him again.

"Tamaki. Now. Get it done now," I muttered, hanging up the phone immediately after. No sooner had I hung up than the phone was ringing again. _5 – Koharu Yoshiiva. _I flipped it open.

"Kyoya Ohtori! What the he–?" Just as I thought, she was angry.

"Tamaki's getting us a school-wide class list," I interrupted. She stopped immediately. "I apologize for hanging up on you but it was important that I ask Tamaki immediately." I heard her sigh loudly, causing me to smirk. She couldn't stay mad at me. "We'll have to go through it by hand, of course, but it's–."

"Better than nothing," she finished softly. I smiled. "Yes, it is. We'll work on it tomorrow then?"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow," I replied, "Goodnight, Koharu."

"Night, Kyoya." The line went dead. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. For the first time in years I had nothing to do and it wasn't even nine yet.

–

The next day, Koharu and I sat in my room, sifting through class lists and student files. Files of British or American students were placed in one pile while the rest were pushed aside. "God, this is taking forever," she muttered, barely audible. I nodded. We'd both known in would take a long time to do it by hand but it was necessary. I'd ordered a new computer and it would be a week before it was shipped to me even with rush delivery.

My back was sore. And Koharu was wincing every now and then. We were close though. So close to being finished with sorting. When I finally set the last page in its place, I leaned back against the couch. "Finally," she muttered, leaning back next to me.

"We still have to sort the British-American pile," I answered. She groaned and let her head fall to my shoulder.

"Did you have to do that?"

"What?"

"Shatter all my hopes of being finished."

I chuckled softly, gazing down at her. "We can take a break," I murmured, glancing at the clock. "You getting hungry?" It was almost 6. I was getting that gnawing hungry feeling in the pit of my stomach, which probably meant she was too.

"A bit," she mumbled, her stomach grumbling loudly to contradict the statement. I smirked.

"A bit?" I questioned skeptically.

"Alright, yes I am. Happy?"

"Extremely."

–

Having eaten, we returned to my bedroom and settled back down on the couch. "Kyoya?"

"Hmm?"

"Whoever did it is really somewhere in this pile aren't they?"

I nodded, glancing over at her. "In a way, they actually helped by taking all my case notes away," I muttered, trying to concentrate once more on sorting the 37 British-American files into males and females. "It narrowed down the suspects to males in our school instead of the entire country." She, once more, distracted me.

"Kyoya?"

"Yes?" I answered, getting slightly irritated now as I looked up at her.

"We'll find her," she stated, staring me in the eye. I nodded.

"I don't doubt we will." This was going faster than the last one had. Of course, we also had 37 to sort through instead of roughly 400. She watched me, not very easily able to interfere when there were so few to go through. I'd glance up at her occasionally. When I'd finished I added pictures of Layne, Pierce, and the three teachers, bringing the total to 25. I frowned at the files spread out on the table in front of me. Even with it narrowed down this greatly it was still a lot.

"Didn't Alrod mention something about dark hair?" Koharu asked suddenly. I looked at her and snatched my notebook off the couch next to me, rifling through it. I'd written all those notes in my notebook, I now remembered. I found the page and scanned through it quickly, nodding. "But how dark is dark?" she mumbled, frowning at the pictures.

"Most likely dark brown or black," I muttered, immediately pulling Layne and Pierce from the suspected. Both had blonde hair that was much like Tamaki's. That also eliminated 2 of the three teachers. Koharu snatched a few students up off the table who had varying shades of blonde and red hair. The lighter brown headed students were pulled by me, leaving 9 dark haired suspects.

Among them were Sensei Tayaku, Adrien Pension, who sat three seats in front of me, and Tate Shireston. I stared at Tate's picture for a moment and could tell Koharu was doing the same. We looked at each other.

One of these people had hired Arthur and Alrod to kidnap Kaydence.

One of them was going to go to jail by the end of this.

–

**A/N: Kudos to thearistocrat, sethrox9730, KageNoNeko, and Koharu Veddette! **

**I actually didn't have a heart attack with this one. I just struggled slightly with things out with the right wording. That tends to happen when I write a ton. I start struggling. But I got through it! **

**Spring break is, unfortunately, coming to an end. And next week I have state testing and science fair so if I get something out it'll be somewhat of a miracle (Ok... Maybe not. I dunno.) **


	11. Suspecting the Unexpected & Love Calls

_Like a Cloud in the Wind_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 11 – Suspecting the Unexpected/Love Calls_

– _Kyoya – _

We had nine suspects. I wasn't sure if we should trail them or what. Trailing them could alert whoever it was that we were on to them, which would cause them to be extra cautious to be normal. There had to be some other clue to this entire thing. Any of them could be the kidnapper. They had to have a motive other than the prospective ransom money.

I'd have to observe each of them individually myself. Their behavior could possibly tip us off of who had actually done it. Tayaku-sensei was the English teacher for 3-A. Tate and 2 other third years were on the list as well. Two on the list were first years. Only three were second years. I'd only be able to watch those three. "We might need to get some of the Hosts to help," I muttered, not too keen on the idea. "Mori and Hunny-sempai could help with the third years while Haruhi and the twins take the first years."

Koharu nodded, in thought. "You think they'd be able to do it inconspicuously?"

"I can be," I paused briefly, "persuasive." She smiled. "For now. You should go home. We'll ask the Hosts about it tomorrow." She nodded, standing up.

– _Kaydence – _

I couldn't stand this place. I couldn't stand being here, knowing that Tate could easily kill me in my sleep. He acted like he cared. I had once thought that he did care. But now... now it just seemed like he had been completely lost to a fake conspiracy against my father. Like he had faked his friendship toward me the entire time.

Every time that he visited me, he acted differently. No matter how he started out, he always left harsh and enraged, though. I never knew how to act around him that wouldn't make him want to stab me in the gut and it made me uneasy.

I wished I could pretend that he wouldn't hurt me. I wanted to act like we were still like brother and sister. But the fact was that I couldn't. I couldn't forget that he had betrayed me.

–

"Kaydence," he said quietly, startling me awake. "You know that I care right?" I glared at him blearily. He was actually trying to convince me that he was worth keeping as a friend? That he was worth anything more than a piece of shit?

"If you cared," I murmured, voice dripping with hate, "you wouldn't have done this in the first place."

"You're blind," he stated, sounding incredibly desperate. Incredibly pained. "You're so blind, Kay."

"Don't call me that," I growled. "How the hell am I blind? You're the one that won't listen to reason. You're the one that's so wrapped up in this conspiracy that you have going in your head that you kidnapped your best friend."

He shook his head. "This is all Ohtori's fault," he said bitterly, "Everything was perfectly fine between us before he came along." I stared at him while his gaze shifted to stare at the wall. "Everything was going as I planned before he came into the bloody picture."

Plan? What plan? "What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, slightly frightened of what the answer would be. Had he been planning this entire thing from the very beginning?

"_Us_, Kaydence."

"There is no _us_, Tate. There never has been," I retorted. What was he telling me? He wasn't making any sense again.

"There would have been if he hadn't interfered and stolen your heart." His voice turned dangerous. He honestly hated Kyoya. He was delusional.

"Stolen my heart? He's a _friend_. Are you telling me that _you're_..." I trailed off, bring my hand to my mouth. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Bloody hell. That was why he had been stalking me.

"Yes, Kaydence. Get it now? Jesus. For a girl as smart as you, you sure are dense." He ran a hand through his hair, smiling gently and looking at me. I hated the look in his eyes and tore mine away.

The bastard had some sick infatuation with me. He had stalked me. Made me believe that he loved me like a sister. Harbored jealous feelings when he'd thought that I was somehow in love with Kyoya. And now because of it he had kidnapped me along with the reason to 'get back at' Layne. He was so sick in the head that I was probably going to end up dead because he lost his temper so badly that he sliced my neck or something.

In other words, I was in deep shit.

– _Kyoya – _

"Kyoya, stop it!" Koharu yelled, "Just stop!"

"He knows where she is! He knows where _he _is," I growled, holding a gun to Arthur's chin. "And I swear to God I'm going to figure out where they are."

"You're wasting your time," he choked out, "If you keep dawdling he'll kill her before you can find her." I stared in his eyes. He looked crazy, but his words were true.

"Where... Where are they?" I asked, forcing my voice to a calmer note.

"Look for the invisible basement," he said, speaking in riddles. I glared at him, dropping my hand with the pistol in it to my side. Without another word I ran back into the warehouse.

"Kyoya!" Koharu screamed from behind me. "Kyoya! You idiot! You're going to get yourself killed!" She sounded worried. Heart-breakingly worried. I glanced back, noticing Tachibana holding her back while tears streamed down her face, before I disappeared from her sight.

I threw aside crates and shelves. There had to be to damn door or something here. Anything that led to a basement. It might even be a basement under the basement for all I knew. Then I caught sight of some stairs across the room. I ran, holding the gun in front of me. I descended down the stairs, into the basement. There was nothing but a short hallway. I checked both of the two doors. One was locked. The other had nothing but a rug, which I threw aside.

Nothing.

I was about to run back up the stairs when I heard a scream from somewhere below me. What the hell? "STOP IT!" It was Kaydence. My blood ran cold. I checked behind the stairs, finding a barely noticeable door behind it. I pulled it open and ran through it, forever keeping the pistol, safety off, in front of me.

I could hear voices as I went down the hallway.

"Kaydence. You're daft. I really expected more from you," the male growled.

"Please," Kay was pleading. "Please don't do this."

"I told you I was going to get back at your father didn't I? Any last words?" She was completely silent as I started running, coming in view of an open door. I heard a gunshot. A second later someone ran out.

"Stop!" I yelled, aiming at his back. He kept going. Reluctantly, I pulled the trigger on my own pistol. The bullet hit him square in the back. He wasn't moving and I doubted he was going anywhere, so I hurried into the room. "No," I breathed, staring at the scene in front of me. "_NO!_"

I'd been too late.

Kaydence was dead.

–

I woke with a start, somehow keeping from screaming. My breath was coming in short, anxious gasps. It had seemed so real, that dream. It bothered me that the voice hadn't been defined, nor had the face. Sweat coated my forehead, making my hair stick to it. I pushed it away from my eyes.

I glanced at the clock. _4:48 AM. _November 6th. 20 days left. Stubbornly, I rolled back over and closed my eyes, attempting to go back to sleep, knowing it was futile. I wouldn't be able to sleep again today. 20 minutes later I was pulling my brand new computer onto my lap tiredly. 3 hours. I'd slept three damn hours before being woken up by that stupid nightmare.

I pulled up the observations the Hosts had all taken on the suspects at the school. Most of them had seemed normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. Hunny and Mori had even followed Tayaku-sensei to his home. He had a wife and two kids. Wasn't really the kind of person that someone would peg as a kidnapper. Besides, the school would have done a background check on him before hiring him.

I crossed him off the list. That left eight. I looked down at the next set of observations.

_Skyler Frays – Third year. Slightly jittery, but is normally due to bullying. No girlfriend, few friends. No obvious connection to Kaydence or the Malrondas. Studies diligently. Heir to coffee manufacturing business. No possible motive._

The fact that he had no motive and no connection to Kaydence at all made me cross him off the list, though I'd still have the two senior Hosts keep observations on him just in case. Seven left.

_Falkner Beveral – Third year. Nothing out of the normal. Thought to be a huge creep but actually quite gentle and shy. No connections to the Malrondas. Girlfriend is second year Suzuki Rurani. No noticeable motive. _

Again, I crossed him off and moved on. Six.

_Bennett Jasonate – Second year. Heir to a rival family of the Malrondas. Could easily have captured Kay to attempt to overcome Layne and prove himself to his father. Nothing out of the normal with his behavior, though that may just be a ploy. _

He was one of the main suspects at the moment. The fact that he was a rival of Kaydence's automatically made him one, even without observations. Still six.

_Adrien Pension – Second year. No connection with Kaydence though he's been missing a lot of school lately. Missing school days could be due to sickly demeanor. Seems affected by Kaydence's disappearance more than others. May have had a crush on her but wouldn't harm her. _

I'd crossed him off the list as soon as I'd found out he'd had a crush on her. He'd always kept to himself, glancing at Kaydence out of the corner of his eye. Five.

_Carles Lyre – Second year. Been out of school with Mono for 3 months. Can't have had any part in Kaydence's kidnapping. _

He was out as well. Four.

_Dalton Grads – First year. Missed school for unknown reason. Sneaks around suspiciously after school hours. Part of the Black Magic club. No connection to Kaydence that's noticeable. Withdraws from activity when possible. Sticks to the shadows. _

His behavior was too suspicious to cross him off. Though he had no connection to her, I still couldn't do it. Still four suspects.

_Jade Hudson – First year. Very open and cheerful. A lot like Tamaki. Nothing suspicious about his behavior at all. Didn't even know who Kaydence was until he found out she had been kidnapped. _

I pulled him off the list. There was no way that he had done it if he hadn't known who she was prior to the kidnapping. Three.

_Tate Shireston – Third year. Supposed boyfriend of Arisa Hirano. Been fighting with her lately. Seems restless but otherwise unaffected by the disappearance of his 'best friend.' Held an attachment to Kaydence before. Lived with her for 3 years, known her for 6. Parents died in a plane crash when the engine failed after being hijacked. _

Tate was a special case. But he was a suspect nonetheless. He could have been harboring resentment toward Layne or Felicity for being overprotective of him after his parents had died. He had motive, surprisingly. I hadn't expected to find much on him. I knew Koharu didn't trust him, and I didn't particularly either.

That narrowed it down to three. Bennett Jasonate, Dalton Grads, and Tate Shireston.

–

"You're brilliant," Koharu said, staring at the list I'd narrowed down in shock. "You're absolutely brilliant."

I smirked. "Why, thank you. It's nice to hear that every once in a while," I replied, nodding my head and leaning back.

"How long were you working on this?"

"Oh, I dunno. Till about 1:30 AM until I finally decided to sleep. Then I ended up waking up at almost 5 to work on it again," I said with slight sarcasm, still slightly ticked at the fact that the damned nightmare I'd had earlier had kept me from my sleep. I pushed my knuckles underneath my glasses and rubbed my eyes tiredly. Koharu was staring at me worriedly.

"Is there... something I should know about?" she asked after moments of hesitation. I shook my head. There was no need to worry her with stupid dreams that weren't accurate in the slightest. "Kyoya," she breathed, "What is it?" Her hand touched mine but I pulled away.

"It's nothing," I muttered, yawning. She was frowning. She knew something was wrong. I sighed. "I just... I had a dream, that's all. Nothing important," I mumbled reluctantly.

"It sounds important if it robbed you of sleep," she retorted, sounding skeptical. I scratched my head. I couldn't lie to her. Really, I couldn't. She, again, tried to take my hand. "Kyoya. You can tell me," she said softly, "You know that."

I nodded but shook my head anyway. "It was stupid. Absolutely inaccurate. Can't possibly happen."

She stared at me strangely. "Was it about Kaydence?" I nodded, turning my eyes away from her to stare out the window. Again, the absolute realistic nature of it hit me as I remembered. "What happened?"

"I was too late," I murmured, "That's what happened. Shot the bastard in the back but I was too late to save her." I sighed and looked back at her. "It's not going to end that way, Koharu. I won't let it." She was staring at the floor in front of her, as if trying to imagine her cousin dead. "Stop thinking about it," I grumbled with a sigh, "It was nothing. You shouldn't worry about it."

She still looked worried. I knew she wouldn't stop worrying until her cousin was safe. That was just the way she was.

– _Kaydence – _

"So, if you've been in love with me all this time, why didn't you tell me?" I asked him, days, maybe weeks later. Tate was, again, fiddling with a knife, but he was in a better mood today. He'd revealed that he'd loved me for 4 years and hadn't had the guts to tell me.

He snorted. "Why? _Why? _Have you ever tried to tell someone you're in love with them, Kaydence?" he muttered. "It's not the easiest thing in the world. I was going to tell you by asking you to the ball, but Ohtori had already snagged you. I saw how happy you looked dancing with him and I couldn't interfere." I shook my head. He really was insane.

"Were you already planning to kidnap me or was it a spur of the moment thing?" I knew I sounded harsh. I wasn't about to fall for this.

"I started planning it after I noticed how much you hanged around _him_." More malice was being added to his eyes the longer that he talked about Kyoya. "In all reality I'd been thinking about it since the moment I found out your father was behind my parents death."

I sighed with exasperation. "He wasn't behind it!"

"Says you!" he spat, spluttering as he tried to find other words.

"How long have I been here Tate?" I asked, irritated to extreme points.

"I'll tell you, you have 7 days left but I won't tell you how long you've been here," he answered with a slight edge in his voice. "I don't want to kill you, Kay." He took out a cellphone hesitantly. "Tell your father that you're safe for now and to hurry. If you say anything else," he paused, flipping open the knife, "let's just say it won't end well for you."

I stared at the knife and then looked into his eyes. He was serious. He was crazy but he was bloody serious about this. He handed me the phone. I took it, watching him the entire time. I didn't dial my father's number. I dialed Kyoya's. He wouldn't know. He had never memorized Layne's number or put it in his phone. He hadn't ever felt the need to. I pushed enter and held the phone to my ear.

"Dad?" I said, feeling incredibly nervous with that bloody knife staring me in the face.

"Kaydence?" Kyoya asked, sounding surprised, "Kay, where are you?"

"I-I can't say," I stuttered. Tate glared at me warningly.

"Who did this to you?"

"I... I can't tell you," I whispered, close to tears. "Listen, Dad. I'm... I'm alright. Just hurry up and send the money, ok? Please, I–," I broke off, shuddering with the effort to hold back a sob, "I'm scared."

"I'll find you, Kaydence. Just stay on the phone for another few seconds," he said. I could hear him rustling around. "I know you can't tell me anything. But I'm close, ok? I'm close. Don't worry, whoever the hell is that's holding you at gunpoint or whatever is going to be the one dead. Not you."

"I-I love you, Father," I breathed, still pretending that I was talking to Layne and not Kyoya. I was dead if he knew I had called anyone else.

Kyoya was silent. "A few more seconds," he murmured after a moment. I heard a female voice in the background, probably the same one that I had heard calling for me back at the hole.

Tate was giving me this look. I knew that my time was now up. "I have to go," I muttered.

"A few more seconds, Kaydence!" he said urgently. "I can track the call if you stay on for a few more seconds!"

"I'm sorry," I choked out, "Goodbye." I pushed end and shoved the phone back at Tate, trying to control my sobs. That was the worst possible thing he could ever do to me. Letting me call and making me hang up right before he would have been able to find me. "I hate you," I whispered as I pulled my knees to my chest and laid my head on top of them. "I hate you, Tate Shireston."

He stared at me for a moment and then he left.

– _Kyoya – _

It was during club on 19th when I got the call. I'd been waiting for a clue. Any goddamn clue for two weeks. The suspects were still nothing more than suspects and the location was still no more broad than the city of Akita. I pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the caller ID briefly. It was an unknown number with a blocked name. I frowned at it and looked over at Koharu, who was watching at me like normal. I flipped open the phone.

"Dad?" It was a voice that I knew. I knew that voice. It was the voice of the girl I'd been looking for, for the past 2 months. Kaydence. She was probably under gunpoint or something, the person thinking that it was her father she was calling. She never called Layne, 'Dad.' Either that or she had called me on accident.

"Kaydence?" I asked, surprise clear in my voice. "Kay, where are you?" Koharu stared at me with wide eyes, hearing me. Even Haruhi was looking over at me now. In an instant Koharu was at my side, listening in.

"I-I can't say," she stuttered, sounding scared. She was most likely at gunpoint. I felt my hand curl into a fist. Damn bastard.

"Who did this to you?" I demanded.

"I... I can't tell you," she said, voice incredibly soft and sounding close to tears, "Listen, Dad. I'm... I'm alright. Just hurry up and send the money, ok? Please, I–," she cut herself off for a moment and took a deep breath, "I'm scared."

"I'll find you, Kaydence," I promised her calmly. Koharu stared at me. "Just stay on the phone for another few seconds. I know you can't tell me anything. But I'm close, ok? I'm close. Don't worry, whoever the hell is that's holding you at gunpoint or whatever is going to be the one dead. Not you." I shuffled around in my bag for the cord that would hook my phone to my computer to trace the call. I found it after a moment, pushing it quickly into a USB port and hooking it to my phone, still holding it to my ear.

"Is it her?" Koharu asked in a furious whisper. I nodded and held up a finger.

"I-I love you, Father," she choked out. I hid my surprise rather well. She had to know it was me by now but she was still saying things that she would only tell her father. Now I was certain that she was being held at the point of a weapon of some sort. But, God. She sounded so scared.

"A few more seconds," I muttered, watching the tracker as it started narrowing down the location of the call. World to Japan.

"I have to go," she said, sounding incredibly reluctant. She couldn't hang up now. Northern part of the main island. She just couldn't.

"A few more seconds, Kaydence!" I said, my voice rising slightly with urgency, "I can track the call if you stay on for a few more seconds!" Akita district.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, like she was still on the verge of tears but trying to stay strong, "Goodbye."

"No, Kayden– Dammit!" The line went dead, my computer screen blinking _CALL LOST _in red. I snapped shut my phone angrily and threw it on the table. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" I stared at how far the map had gotten. The center part of the city was clearly shown. Unfortunately, that was also the area that had all the warehouses and factories. "I was so close!" I felt angry but almost hopeless at the same time.

Koharu's hand found my shoulder and Tamaki escorted the remaining customers out of the room with a flurry of apologies. I ran a hand through my hair. I lost my temper briefly and kicked the table leg. "Dammit!" I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind.

"It's alright, Kyoya," Koharu murmured in my ear, "It's alright. You tried. You narrowed down the area. That's more than anyone could have done on such a short notice." I stood, forcing her to release me, and turned around, immediately pulling her to me instead. "We're one step closer to finding her, Kyoya," she whispered, staring up at me.

"Kyoya," Tamaki interjected, "You're a mastermind. You'll find her because of that fact."

I nodded, thinking. "Wait," I muttered, mind working furiously. Why had he let her call? Had he trusted her enough to call her father and not the police? "Wait. He had to have trusted her." I let go of Koharu and leaned down to work with my computer.

"What?" Koharu asked, shaking her head in my direction. She probably hadn't comprehended what I had said, considering the speed that I'd said it.

"Whoever it was had to have trusted her if they let _her _call. She kept calling me 'Dad' and 'Father.' She was supposed to be talking to Layne, not me."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means... It's someone who knew her well. Let's go through suspects shall we?" I turned back to the computer and pulled up the suspect notes. "Bennett Jasonate. He's a known enemy of her family. That's the only reason he's still on the suspect list."

"He wouldn't possibly know Kaydence like that," Koharu finished softly. I nodded and moved to the next set.

"Dalton Grads. His behavior is suspicious. However, he's part of the Black Magic club. Most students that are part of it, are kind of sketchy."

"He also didn't know Kaydence all that well," she completed fluently. We stared each other in the eye, knowing which name that left.

"Tate Shireston," I said clearly, gripping her shoulders, "He was her best friend."

"He lived with her for 3 years," she continued.

"He would have known her well enough and thought her trustworthy enough to call by herself." I stared at her, a smile coming to my face. That was it. It was Tate.

"Tate Shireston is Matte Hirostens," she concluded with a grin.

"You're brilliant," I murmured, plucking my phone off of the table and pushing Chief Takamura's speed dial. "I want Tate Shireston found and taken into custody right this instant, got it?" I growled into my phone was it was answered.

"Hai!" he exclaimed in surprise. I snapped it shut and grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair.

"I'm taking that bastard down," I muttered, feeling Koharu's hand slip into mine as she hurried with me towards the door.

"Kyoya-sempai!" Haruhi gasped from behind me. I spun around and stared at her. "Matte Hirostens. If you unscramble it and add an M it's Tate Shireston." I ran it through my head quickly. Goddamn, she was right. He was definitely our man.

"M is his middle initial," Koharu said quietly. "I knew I was right not to trust that bastard."

I nodded and pulled her out the door. "We're going to the Malrondas. Right now."

–

**A/N: Ohoho~ A quick update this was! And they're getting so close! Unfortunately, you'll be stuck with this cliff-hanger until I get to writing the 12****th**** chapter. **

**Kudos to: StoryOfFiction, KageNoNeko, thearistocrat and Koharu Veddette! **


	12. Action & Threat

_Like a Cloud in the Wind_

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 12 – Action/Threat_

**A/N: Mixing it up a little by throwing in a little Tate and Koharu these last two chapters or so, methinks. **

– _Kyoya – _

"Where's Shireston?" I growled at the butler who opened the door. He looked at me in admonishment for a moment. "Well?" Koharu pushed me aside lightly, smiling apologetically at him.

"Where's Tate, Argus?" she asked him politely.

"Out with Miss Arisa, last I heard," he stuttered. I was about to turn around and head for the limo again to track down Shireston's girlfriend when Layne's voice came from the door.

"Why the hell are you looking for Tate?"

"Because," I spat, pissed as hell, "He did it. He kidnapped Kaydence. The bastard kidnapped his best friend." Felicity, who was standing behind him, looked like she had just taken a shot through the heart. "I'm gonna kill that son of a–."

Koharu cut me off, glaring at me pointedly. "Kyoya. Shut up for a moment."

"Explanation please?" Layne asked, looking between the two of us.

"Kyoya got a call from Kaydence," Koharu started. Layne opened his mouth, "No she's not free. Most likely they were holding her at gunpoint. She was supposed to be calling you to tell you to hurry up and send the money. I think, she called Kyoya on purpose. The fact that whoever it was, let her call by herself tells us that it was someone who knew her well. Get it?"

Layne stared at her then shifted his gaze to me. I nodded in confirmation. "Where is he?" I asked, breathing heavily.

"L-Like Argus said, he's out with Arisa," Felicity stuttered from behind him. "Why the hell would _he _kidnap my daughter? They've been best friends for 6 years."

"I haven't exactly figured that out. All I know is that all clues point to him and Matte Hirostens unscrambles into his name," I said in a low voice, "Now can I continue hunting down that bastard?" Layne nodded once, at loss for words. "Thank you." I turned and left with Koharu hurrying behind me. I was so furious at the moment that no one could calm me down. I exhaled heavily through my nostrils.

"Kyoya, calm down," Koharu murmured, stroking my hand.

"Like hell I'll calm down!" I retorted, "That _son of a bitch _betrayed his best friend. He _kidnapped _Kaydence."

"I understand that. But, Kyoya, you aren't going to be able to think logically if you're all wired up!"

I stared at her a moment and took a deep breath. She was right. I rarely lost control of my temper but when I did it normally caused me to think illogically. "Sorry," I muttered, squeezing her hand lightly. "Sorry." She smiled and shook her head at me.

"You're cute when you're mad," she mumbled under her breath, almost so quiet that I couldn't hear her. She held the same sort of smirk I normally did.

"Oh, _really_?" I asked, bringing her hand to my cheek. She stared at me, mouth open. She probably thought that she'd said that quietly enough that I hadn't heard it. I chuckled softly while her face broke into an uneasy smile. "You're going to pay for that comment, Yoshiiva," I murmured. The smile turned blank.

– _Kaydence – _

I was curled up. Curled up and rocking back and forth. Pretending that I was in my own little world. That I was far away from Tate and Arthur. And finally, I was just floating. Floating outside of reality, outside of time. Floating away where no one could hear or see me. I dropped my head into my hands. I hated myself. I hated myself for ever trusting Tate.

But more than anything I hated him. I hated him and I didn't think I could ever forgive him for what he'd done to me. I wished he would rot and burn in the very depths of the fires of hell. He had taken away so much. My time, my trust. My hope. I held all this hate inside of me. All this anger. And at the center of all of it was a sense of hopelessness.

But now, I was floating. And all of it floated away. Every last bit of hopelessness and anger. It all drifted away. To the extent that I didn't have to worry about anything, because I wasn't even there.

"You're still here, y'know." My eyes shot open and I dropped back down to earth. I looked over at Tate. "You're still here, and you're always going to be here," he said, smirking lightly and leaning against the door frame.

"Get out," I muttered, "Just get the fuck out and leave me the hell alone."

"You'll _always _be here Kay. You know why?" _Because you're insane? _"Because you're _mine _now."

"I am _no one's_," I growled, glaring daggers at him. "Especially not yours, Shireston."

"Come now, Kaydence. D'you have to be so harsh?"

"It's the only way for me to get through your bloody thick skull," I retorted. He sighed and stared at me. But the way he was staring at me made me feel slightly violated. "Stop looking at me," I whispered, "_Stop looking at me like that!_"

"Like what?" I glared at him, pulling my knees closer to me as he took a few steps forward. "Kaydence, why're you crying?" he asked softly. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not crying," I mumbled, "And I'm not scared of you."

"You have 5 days left until your death, Kay. It's only logical that you'd be scared," he murmured, "You better hope your father does as you told him to." He was reaching out his hand toward me. I smacked it away with disgust.

"Don't, touch me," I bit out harshly, "Don't you dare touch me, bastard."

"Why won't you accept me, Kaydence?" he asked, voice rising with his frustration and anger. Why didn't I – _Why didn't I accept him? _What the hell had all this time taught him?

"Do you really need an answer to that?" I asked with soft danger in my voice. His face turned hard, almost like stone. I knew that he knew the answer. I hated him. He had destroyed all of his chances at ever redeeming himself in my eyes. There was no reversing it now.

– _Kyoya – _

Koharu didn't even let me speak when we got to the Hirano household. She pushed me aside and refused to let me forward at all. "Excuse me, Hirano-san. Do you know where your daughter is?" she asked, bowing. Her eyes narrowed immediately.

"If you're here on behalf of that boy, you can turn right around," Arisa's mother said bitterly, making to close the door on us. I stuck my foot in the door quickly.

"We aren't," I muttered in a low voice, "We're looking for him actually." Koharu's glare pierced the back of my head but I ignored it. "Can we please see Arisa-sempai?" .

Her mother bit her lip and shook her head. "I'm sorry. She's rather upset at the moment. Perhaps if you come back in a few days." With that she pushed my foot out of the way and slammed the door closed.

"That went well," I said sarcastically under my breath. I reached into my pocket and snatched up my cell phone. Seconds later I was talking to Chief Takamura. "Is there any clue as to where he is?"

"Sorry, sir. Nothing."

"Dammit," I murmured, running a hand through my hair. "Find him, dammit. He has to be somewhere. Just, find him. Watch the Malrondas, watch the Hiranos, watch whatever house that he may have visit. As soon as he shows, grab him."

"Hai!" he exclaimed. I snapped my phone shut, slightly angry with myself. Whatever sick game Shireston was playing with us, it wasn't going to work. I was going to break his damn code. I'd outsmart him.

–

"Please, just leave us alone!" The door to the Hirano residence once again slammed shut in my face. Everyday for five days. I'd been coming back everyday, trying to get some kind of information, some clue, as to where the hell Shireston and Kaydence were. Everyday the door had been slammed in my face with the request for me not to come back. I walked back to the car where Koharu was waiting.

She sighed as I slid into the seat next to her. "Again?" she asked. I nodded, wishing I could, for once, tell her something different. "Do you think that she'll start going back to school anytime soon?"

"Perhaps. I wouldn't count on it though," I mumbled.

– _Kaydence – _

"He's not coming for you Kaydence. You might as well give it up," Tate said from the door.

"Shut up. He'll find me. And he'll throw you in jail," I muttered into my knees. "You'll rot in jail for this, Shireston."

"I wouldn't be so sure. You have two days. Do you _really _think that Ohtori's going to save you in two days?"

"I have faith in him," I mumbled. Honestly, I was actually starting to doubt that I'd get out of here alive. Surely, Tate wouldn't let me go, even when he had the money. I'd been reserved to the fact that I'd die if Kyoya didn't rescue me from this godforsaken place.

I was playing the role that I thought I'd never have to play. I was the damsel in distress. Kyoya, however un-prince-like he was, was the prince that had to save me. And Tate, Tate who I'd always thought would be the bloody prince, was the evil wizard set on destroying my life. I hated the analogy but it was the only way to think of it in my head.

I was the 'damsel in distress' who had been captured by the 'evil wizard.' And Kyoya was the 'prince' who was destined to save me.

But what if the prince didn't come through in his duties?

I'll tell you what they don't tell you in fairytales. If the prince doesn't come through, the damsel in distress is seriously screwed. If the prince fails, the damsel in distress gets eaten by the evil wizard's pet dragon.

– _Kyoya – _

I didn't go back to the Hirano's the next day. I didn't even bother. I knew that all that would happen was a door slam to the face. If they opened the door at all, that is. There was one day left. One damn day and I couldn't do anything. I'd sent the police storming into several warehouses but they'd turned up with nothing. Koharu was getting incredibly anxious.

Host Club was running smoothly, I was furiously trying to narrow down which warehouse Kaydence could possibly be in. I gave up when I found that it was impossible to tell which ones would and would not be possible without storming every single damn warehouse in the city.

I wanted to kick something. Kick and scream and throw a fit. But having a conniption fit in the middle of club wouldn't help Kaydence's situation get any better. If anything, it would only make it worse. There was one thing left to do, though I doubted it would get Kaydence back safely anyway. Reluctantly, I pulled out my cell phone.

"You're giving up?" Koharu asked me, staring from where she was standing in front of the table I was currently seated at. I turned my eyes away from her, concentrating on dialing Layne's number. "Kyoya! You're seriously giving up on her?" I refused to look at her, knowing that her eyes would hold what I least wanted to see. Disappointment. Anger. Sadness. Hurt. I couldn't take that. Even being the 'Shadow King,' I was still human.

"I don't have a choice, Koharu," I murmured, keeping my voice low and even. I hesitated in pressing the call button.

"So, you're going to give up and just let her die? You and I both know that Shireston won't let her go. If you give up, she'll die." Her voice was trembling slightly. I closed my eyes and brought two fingers to my temple.

"There isn't anything left to do. There's no way to narrow down the warehouses other than to storm every single damn one in the city," I said softly, keeping my eyes closed and my head down.

"Then do it!" she exclaimed, her voice rising.

My eyes shot open as I stood up, shaking slightly. I felt my voice rise to match hers before I even spoke. "I can't, Koharu! Even if I did it would take days! _Days!_ Maybe even weeks! And by the time that I found her, she'd be dead anyway!" I stared her in the eye, something I'd been avoiding, hand clutching my cellphone.

She shook her head at me in disgust. "And here I thought Ohtoris never gave up," she mumbled scathingly, taking a quick breath that was most likely to hold back her tears for a few more seconds, "Here I thought that you would always reach out and grab whatever was needed. But you won't. You're just going to be a selfish bastard and give up."

I wished I could say that it didn't hurt to hear that from her, but it did. It practically scalded my ears. "I don't have a choice," I muttered evenly, effectively hiding the affect that she'd had on me, "I'm sorry."

"Save your damn sorries, Kyoya. I blame you for Kaydence's death," she grumbled, tears finally leaking over the edges of her eyes before she ran out. I stared after her in disbelief, hardly even able to hold my anger. I set my phone down on the table and ran a hand through my hair.

"Kyoya?" Tamaki asked, sounding slightly apprehensive.

"What?" I snapped, turning my head in his direction but keeping my eyes on the door Koharu had left through.

"She'll be back," he said with a smile, "She'll be back because despite how angry she is at you, she cares." I swallowed against the lump that had formed in my throat.

"I've practically killed her cousin. I doubt she'll forgive so easily," I murmured quietly, picking my phone back up off the table and re-punching Layne's number into it. Again, I hesitated in pressing send, thinking. I was giving up. By giving up, I was, in essence, responsible for Kaydence's death. I shook my head and pushed the green button.

"Please tell me you've found her." His voice rang clearly even through the horrible sound quality of the phone

I swallowed. "The contraire actually. Send the money, Layne," I muttered, hearing Koharu's words bite their way through my mind again. I brought my free hand to my forehead, massaging it carefully in an attempt to fight away a headache.

"You're giving up?" he asked in much of the same tone Koharu had. I stayed silent, closing my eyes again. "You can't bloody give up!"

"Why not?" I asked bitingly. I was fed up with people telling me what I could and could not do.

"You'll forever carry the guilt of her death on your shoulders, you know that, right?"

"There's a chance that he'll let her go if you just send the damn money!" I exclaimed, starting to lose control of my temper. This was insane. Absolutely insane. No one could be expected to find a kidnapper when there hadn't been any clues left behind to supplement the search. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Koharu, it'll take weeks to find the right wa–!"

"Ohtori-san," someone mumbled, interrupting my rant into the phone. I paused, looking up to meet the fiery amber eyes of Arisa Hirano. After all that pursuing and crap, she had actually come to me? Go figure.

Layne was trying to say something but I brought the reins down on it. "Hold that thought, Layne. I'll call you back." I snapped my phone shut, holding it behind my back and looking at the girl in front of me expectantly. "Arisa-sempai?"

"M-My mother mentioned that you kept coming by, wanting to see me. Why was that?" she muttered, casting her eyes downward.

I took a deep breath. This might be my chance to actually get information. My phone started buzzing furiously in my hand. I ignored it. "Have you heard about the situation Kaydence Malronda is in?"

She nodded once, fidgeting with her feet. "She was kidnapped the night of the ball right?"

"Precisely," I murmured, "I believe that your boyfriend–."

"Ex-boyfriend," she muttered, clenching her fists at her sides. Interesting. She was mad at Tate. That would probably give her more reason to help us.

"I believe he's the one behind it," I finished.

"He _was_ acting strange," she said softly, "I was wondering why, but when I tried to ask him he pushed me away. Got violent even."

"Do you have any clue where he is? Any clue at all?" Arisa started shaking her head, eyes meeting mine. "He never said anything about where he was going? Not even under his breath?" Tears were coming to her eyes, as if remembering hurt. "Please, Arisa-sempai. Kaydence could die if she isn't found in two days."

"He... He mentioned something about," she paused, looking like she was thinking hard, even though it hurt her, "something about a mill."

"A mill?" I asked, feeling hope in me once more. Maybe, I didn't have to give up. My phone was vibrating angrily once more. Again, I ignored it.

"It was under his breath so I might've heard it wrong. But I think he said a saw mill." It clicked right then. The mill. The damn mill that I had looked over on the map thousands of times. It was practically in the middle. And there was a warehouse right next to it that was out of commission. I turned around and pulled my computer to me, pulling up the map.

"Yes," I muttered under my breath, "Yes, that makes sense." A second later the phone was moving again. _Layne Malronda_. I pressed send. "Don't bother sending the money. I think I found her. If you have any contacts in Akita, I suggest you use them to storm the godforsaken retired saw mill and adjoining warehouses," I grumbled into the phone, pushing end immediately afterward and switching to Koharu's speed dial.

"What the hell do you want, Shadow King?" she asked in annoyance.

"And here I thought you'd be happy to hear me," I responded sarcastically, feeling my resolve slip a little in irritation. "If you can stop being mad at me for 5 seconds, meet me at the Usagi Private Airport in 10 minutes." I didn't even bother to wait to hear her reply. I just ended the call and packed up my laptop. "Thank you, Arisa-sempai." She nodded in response.

"Go, Kyoya, go!" I heard the other club members cheer as I headed out the door. A smirk lit my face.

– _Tate – _

Kaydence hated me. That much was clear. But I couldn't stay away from her. She was the godforsakenly sweet honey and I was the flies she was attracted by the mobs. No one should be able to have that affect on me. She always had though.

_Always. _

Even when we first met. Even when she pretended to hate me and pushed me away, I still kept coming back. I wasn't desperate or anything. That's just how it had always been. She was my best friend. She would have been my girlfriend if it hadn't been for Ohtori.

I had thought that, by letting her call her parents, it would ease her hate the slightest bit. But it just seemed to egg it on. I trusted her to call her father and _no one else_. The way I saw it, her father was too blinded by the worry he was harboring for his daughter that he wouldn't even think about tracking the call.

It broke my heart, listening to her stutter as she talked to her father on the phone. I was constantly threatening her, but that was just an act to make sure she knew who was in charge here. As soon as I had the money I would be kind to her.

I constantly thought about her.

It didn't matter what her father had done. She wasn't Layne. She would never be Layne. Layne was sometimes so heartless and cruel that it was hard to imagine that they were even related. But, he'd crossed the line when he'd had my parents killed.

Now, I was going to make him suffer. Suffer in the only way I knew possible. Depriving him of his only daughter and taking over half his fortune. I knew, that even when the money was given to me I wouldn't be able to let Kaydence go. She was too precious, too fragile, for the kind of life _he _offered her. If he didn't pay me, he would believe his daughter to be dead. He'd give up searching, and then I'd have Kaydence all to myself.

He would have prevented it if he hadn't had Rani Maika, his private agent, hijack the plane that my parents were flying on to Paris. He had crashed the plane. He had made the engine fail to look like an accident. Reporters and the government only knew about the hijacking because one person had survived. One single person.

It had never occurred to me to call the number Kaydence had called just to make sure it was, in fact, her father. I only thought about it now, now that I was sitting around bored and tired of listening to Kaydence hate me.

Lazily, I picked through my phone's recent calls list. I fished out the number that Kaydence had called six days ago and redialed it, holding the phone to my ear lightly.

The voice that I expected to be Layne's was, instead, the one that I wanted to hear the least. It was _him_.

"Layne, shut up and let me work," Ohtori's voice spoke clearly with annoyance clear, "I'm not about to give up on her again."

"Is that so, Ohtori?" I asked before I could stop myself, anger set in my voice. The bloody girl had lied to me. She hadn't called her father at all. She had called my one true enemy. She had called _Kyoya Ohtori_. _He _would be able to track the call. _He _would be able to find me if she had called him. My trust in her had failed horribly, I noticed with belated hurt.

"Shireston, I'm sending you to rot in jail," he growled. I could just tell that he was delighted to hear from me. He probably already knew. Hell, I'd been missing for six days. Who wouldn't know?

"Better hurry. A little birdy just told me that Kaydence's death date just got moved forward 12 hours," I spat with distaste, my anger flaring to more dangerous levels the more I spoke to him. Kaydence had betrayed me. Betrayed _me_. I was furious. Absolutely furious with her.

It didn't matter that I loved her anymore. She was going to die.

– _Kaydence – _

"You bloody traitor!" Tate yelled, breaking through the door and pushing me back into reality once more. Stupid bastard couldn't leave me alone for five minutes.

"I believe you're talking about yourself, Shireston," I growled in a low voice.

"You didn't call _Layne_," he shouted accusingly. I felt myself grow smaller. Shit. He knew. I was most likely screwed now. "You called that bloody _bastard_."

"Whatever could you be talking about?" I asked innocently, plastering a fake smile on my face. He was pissed. The only way to get out of being killed was to act completely innocent. Like I hadn't done a single thing wrong.

"Don't play games with me, Kaydence," he growled in a low voice, tossing his hands around in the air with that blasted knife in his hands again. I watched it apprehensively, like I always did. "Don't you _dare _try to deny it."

"And if I do?" I retorted before I could stop myself. Stupid Kaydence! Stupid, stupid Kaydence! Shut your bloody mouth! This rage flared in his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak. A loud ring tone from a cellphone went off before he could say anything, however.

Pursing his lips he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it angrily. "What, Arisa?" His face paled considerably. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to bloody kill you when I'm done mauling Malronda and Ohtori. You hear me, Hirano?" he shouted into the phone. Jesus, he was really angry this time. And far from being the quietly angry Tate Shireston I'd known for many years. This was the threateningly angry monster Shireston that was coming out now.

I had a really bad feeling. And it only got worse when Arthur entered the room.

"Boss!" he called, screeching to a halt in the doorway, "Boss! The police are on their way here! Ohtori found us!" Tate turned a glare in his direction and then stared at me menacingly.

"Give me your gun and go back upstairs," he growled to his crony. Fuck. The feeling in the pit of my stomach just grew. I stared at the shiny black pistol that passed between the hands of the two males, feeling hysteria just waiting to break from my throat. Arthur turned and ran back to wherever he had come from. I stared at the gun in Tate's hands with horror while he handled it carefully. "Get on the floor, Kaydence," he muttered, tongue in cheek and vaguely pointing it in my direction.

I thought it best to do as he said. I slid slowly from my place on the bed and sat on the floor, eying the gun barrel as it moved with me. I felt my hysteria rise swiftly when he removed the safety. Tears found their way down my cheeks in rivers before I could stop them.

He laughed at me. The fucking son of a bitch laughed. "Scared now that I have the gun, Malronda?" he asked bitterly. I shook my head, trying fiercely to stop the tears that were contradicting that statement. "You're about to die. Can you guess why?"

I stared at him. "Please," I finally whispered hoarsely, "_Please_, Tate." The tears came harder as his finger found the trigger and tensed. I didn't want to die. I couldn't. I had so much to do still. So much that I could be.

"_There is no more mercy in me!_" he screamed. I winced involuntarily. "I won't have you fucking begging for mercy _now_! _DO YOU KNOW WHY I'M GOING TO KILL YOU?_" I stayed utterly silent, not daring to move a muscle. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. My entire body was going into hysterics. And still the tears ran faster and harder down my cheeks.

He calmed his voice to a low bitter level. "I'm going to kill you, because your father needs to feel the pain that I felt when he killed my parents."

"They wouldn't want you to do this, Tate," I pleaded, "Please, just _please_, don't do this. You don't need to enact revenge for them."

"Shut up!" he yelled, holding the gun that was shaking in his hand steady, aiming it at my head. I felt my shoulders shake with the effort to keep my sobs in. "I am going to kill you because you _betrayed _me by calling Ohtori. You betrayed my trust, Malronda! Your entire family has betrayed me! You deserve to die just for that fact!" I stared at him, coming to terms with the fact that I was about to die and no one would be able to reach me in time.

Not even the prince could save the damsel in distress from the wrath of this evil wizard now.

"Any last words?" he asked bitterly, his hand completely tense and ready to pull the trigger. I closed my eyes and turned my head away from him. I left my body and started floating above reality, in much the same way that I had a lot that last week.

I'd found out that it was a lot less painful to be trapped and humiliated when you weren't actually mindfully present. Now, I wasn't going to feel pain when I died. I wasn't going to feel any pain at all. I was just going to die peacefully.

Peacefully and alone.

"I expected more from you, Kaydence," he whispered. I squeezed my eyes tighter shut subconsciously.

Then the shot rang throughout the room.

–

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Don't you all just love me now? **

**Anyways, Kudos to my lovely reviewers~. Sethrox9730, StoryOfFiction, Kiriyu-chan, thearistocrat, KageNoNeko, and TwilightFever-FutureCullen! Double kudos also go to my amazing beta reader and friend, Koharu Veddette! **

**Most likely, only one chapter left. **

**Unless I feel evil and just want you all left with this. Which has been known to happen. **


	13. The Waking, The Living, and The Dead

_Like a Cloud in the Wind _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 13 – The Waking, The Living, and The Dead_

– _Kyoya – _

As I had suspected, Koharu was waiting for me when I arrived. Though, she still looked mad. I was reserved to being mad as long as she was. I wouldn't be the first one to break. "Well?" she asked after I was silent for a while, "Going to announce that my cousin's dead?" Her tongue was set stubbornly in her cheek. I shook my head and looked away from her. I should have just left without her. "Kyoya, you gave up." Still, I ignored her. "If you're just going to ignore me I'm going home." She stood, making way to leave, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, sitting her down. She glared at me.

"Would I ever bring you to an _airport _if we weren't going somewhere?" I asked bitingly, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared out the window. She huffed and rolled her eyes.

Several minutes of impatient waiting and watch-checking later, I stood and took hold of her elbow, pulling her with me toward the boarding dock. A small 2-passenger plane was waiting for us on the runway to take off. She scoffed lightly when I helped her climb into the small airplane, seeing as she almost tripped though it was a good thing I had.

She settled herself, starting to ignore me all together once more. That was fine with me. Let her be mad. As soon as she realized that Kaydence might just be saved and that I hadn't given up, she'd be perfectly fine again.

–

We were minutes away from landing when Koharu finally spoke civilly to me. "Kyoya," she murmured. I, thinking she was going to insult me again, ignored her. She sighed softly. "Kyoya, look at me."

"Why?" I muttered stubbornly, childishly even.

She huffed in exasperation. "Kyoya, I'm sorry." She tried to take my hand but I pulled my hand out of her reach, forever staring out the port hole that was positioned nicely next to me. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "Honestly, will you talk to me? Please?"

"What do you want me to say?" I asked her softly, starting to slip in the resolve that I'd built up against her.

"Anything," she murmured, "I just don't want to be mad anymore. And I don't want you to be mad at me, either."

I sighed and turned to face her. "I'm not mad. Insulted maybe, but not mad," I said quietly. She smiled and took my hand. I hesitated for a moment. "When we get there, I want you to stay in the car," I stated carefully.

Her smile instantly turned to a frown. "I still don't even have a clue where we're going. And why should I stay in the car?" She sounded slightly annoyed.

Again, I hesitated. "After you stormed out, Arisa stopped by," I mumbled. Her grip on my hand tightened considerably. "I know where Kaydence is, Koharu. And I don't want you to get hurt by Tate on accident. So, please, _stay in the car_." She pursed her lips into a fine line. "It's not that I don't think you can defend yourself," I corrected myself quickly, "It's that... I... care about you. If you got hurt, I'd blame myself."

She was silent, staring off into space for a while. And then she sighed in consent. "I understand," she whispered. I smiled softly and brought her fingers to my lips.

– _Koharu – _

"There's something else," Kyoya said after he lowered my hand once more. I gave him a quizzical look, incredibly happy that he wasn't mad, yet, slightly resenting his request that I stay in the car. "No matter what happens to me in that warehouse, no matter what you hear, stay in the car." His eyes were solemn when they met mine. I felt my face pale. No. He wasn't seriously implying that he was going in there and that _something _might happen to _him_.

"Kyoya?" I whispered, voice shaking. He looked down. "You aren't seriously going in there are you?" He nodded, refusing to meet my eye. I shook my head furiously. "You can't. He'll kill you."

"I know what I'm doing, Koharu," he stated evenly. I knew I wouldn't win this argument. It was already over in his mind and it wouldn't be changed. He was way too determined. Way too stubborn. I was suddenly fearful for him.

"We're about to land. Seatbelts please," the pilot shouted back to us. I sighed and held back my protests, tugging my seatbelt over my shoulder. We descended, Kyoya's hand squeezing mine lightly in silent reassurance that he'd be fine.

I didn't believe it.

Someone was going to get hurt. He couldn't even try to tell me no one would. And there was a one out three chance that it would be him. Two out three that it would be someone I cared about.

– _Kyoya – _

My phone started vibrating in my pocket right after Koharu and I were out of the plane, causing me to reach in to grab it.

I figured it was Layne again. He'd been calling me repeatedly, trying to get more information on Kaydence. I sighed, figuring it was better if I answered him now. "Layne, shut up and let me work," I muttered with annoyance, "I'm not about to give up on her again." I took Koharu's hand and pulled her with me toward the terminal. She rolled her eyes at the mention of her uncle.

It wasn't Layne. "Is that so, Ohtori?" Shireston's voice growled angrily. This probably meant that he knew Kaydence had called me. That wasn't good. I wanted to snap his neck suddenly. Or strangle him. Any form of his neck being in my hands would suffice.

"Shireston, I'm sending you to rot in jail," I bit out in a low voice. Hell, if I ever got my hands on him I'd do more than throw him in jail. Koharu stiffened at the mention of his name. She stared me in the eye, I stared right back with a frown set on my face.

"Better hurry. A little birdy just told me that Kaydence's death date just got moved forward 12 hours," he spat. I could practically hear the rage in his voice. Kaydence wouldn't last long against him if he was in that angry state. He hung up on me after saying that.

"Kaydence is in trouble," I muttered, slipping my phone back in my pocket. Koharu ran a hand through her hair, exhaling slowly. She looked like she was thinking about something pretty damn hard. She leaned against me slightly, biting her lip, as we swept through security with amazing speed. We found a car waiting for us with slight amazement. I'd half-expected that I'd have to flag down a taxi. "Retired saw mill. Step on it," I directed to my driver. He nodded and stepped carefully on the gas.

We were on our way.

– _Koharu – _

I bit my lip worriedly, as I'd been doing frequently over the last few weeks. Kyoya was really going into that warehouse. And when he did, he might never come out. I felt as if a huge weight had suddenly been pushed on me, suffocating me, pressuring my ribcage to collapse. It was fear. A terrible fear that he and Kaydence – two of the people I cared about the most – wouldn't make it out. That I'd find them as corpses drowning in their own blood instead of living humans, drinking in the life that they'd been given like parched mammals by a river.

I wasn't worried about myself. Not in the least.

A small sigh directed my attention from the urban landscape that was passing by. I turned to look at Kyoya, once again feeling fright grip my heart as I looked into his onyx eyes. "I don't want you to go," I whispered, unable to keep my mouth shut any longer.

"I'll be fine," he murmured in reply, "Trust me. I'll come back to you, Yoshiiva Koharu" Hearing the full name he knew for me made me realize that he didn't really know who I was. He didn't know that I was Koharu Veddette, oldest daughter of the Veddette family. Though, Koharu Yoshiiva was a name I could use, my mother's, it wasn't really the right one.

He was running into danger and he might never know the truth. "You should know something," I mumbled, lowering my gaze to my hands. "Just– Just in case."

"And what would that be?" he replied, revealing his signature smirk.

I swallowed briefly before closing my eyes and opening my mouth. "Koharu Veddette." I opened my eyes and looked into his.

"What?" he asked, confusion flitting briefly in his eyes before a spark of realization took hold in replacement.

"My name... is Koharu Veddette. I'm the oldest daughter of Yamato Veddette and Kyoko Yoshiiva. I registered under my mother's name so people would befriend me because who I was and not what my name was," I said quietly. He was looking at me oddly, something between amusement and relief in his eyes. "I wanted you to know. Just in case you..." I trailed off. I couldn't finish that statement as I turned my eyes back to my hands.

Kyoya plus death equals? _Error! Error! Does not compute!_

A soft laugh escaped his lips and grew louder until I finally looked up to find him wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Koharu," he said, still trying to stifle his insane laughter, "I'm glad you finally told me, but, it doesn't matter to me what your name is."

I stared at him a moment before realizing, he was right. My original goal for registering under Mom's name had succeeded. He liked me, for me. Not because I was part of the family that owned one of the largest transportation manufacturing companies. I felt myself sigh with relief and start laughing with him as we came in view of a towering saw mill.

My laughter died down immediately, being filled with absolute fear once more.

– _Kyoya – _

Police cars surrounded the mill and the two warehouses that were close to it. Koharu's eyes grew troubled and worried as soon as she saw it. I knew very well that I might lose my life trying to save Kaydence. I was prepared for it, even. As we rolled up the road that would put us in front of the warehouse, I pulled her to me, pressing my lips to her temple. "I'll be fine," I breathed. She nodded as I squeezed her tightly. "Did I ever tell you why Kaydence ran out?" I added suddenly, surprising myself even.

"No."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. We were coming up on the mill fast, so I either had to tell her quickly or tell her later. Either way, she deserved to know. "Kaydence... kissed me. And she didn't want to explain or she couldn't at the time. So, she walked home. I let her. That's why your uncle blames me for this."

She was silent, bobbing her head in thought. I squeezed her again. Her lips twitched gently upward before tugging themselves back down into that solemn blank look she'd been holding since the plane ride.

The car came to a stop. I pulled her out of the car with me. When I said, 'stay in the car,' I'd really meant, 'stay outside,' as she probably knew already. I could barely contain my hate for Shireston at that moment as I pursed my lips grimly. I was going to take him down if it killed me, and it might.

I was stopped in my stride toward the yellow tape that surrounded the entire area by an officer. Civilians crowded around the edges of the roped off area, whispering about what might be happening. No one really knew. Layne had specifically kept this story out of the news the best that he could, though now, I could see news cameras among those in the crowds. "Sir, we found the Smires guy in warehouse one, but the rest of it seems to be barren."

I felt my jaw clench, both in anger and annoyance. Smires. Just hearing that damn name made my blood boil. It reminded me who had originally kidnapped Kaydence, even if they hadn't been the ones behind the entire plan.

Then, I caught sight of him being lead to a car in handcuffs. I ran over with fire burning in my eyes, stopping his two escorts in their tracks when I pinned him against the car. "Where is she, Smires?" I growled. I was vaguely reminded of my dream, a slight fear fluttering in my stomach before I put a damper on it.

"Who? Your girlfriend? I haven't a clue," he sneered in response.

I glared at him and proceeded to pull the gun out of it's holster on a nearby officer's belt. The officer jumped, glancing at me with a surprised look. "I'll ask you again, where is she?" I asked venomously, holding the barrel to his chin, much like I had in my dream. "Where are Kaydence and Shireston, Smires?"

He merely cackled, "You'll never find her. You'll be too late." I felt my blood pressure rise in the slightest. Two hands found their way around the gun and pried it from my grasp before I could retort. I turned to look at Koharu, annoyance clearly set on my face.

"Kohar–."

"I won't have you becoming a murderer," she whispered fiercely, interrupting my comment. "I won't have it, dammit. I know he knows where Kaydence is, but I won't have you turned into a murderer just to get it out of him!" She gave me this searing look. I could, in all reality, manipulate the information out of him much like I had with Alrod.

The thing was, I didn't have that much time. Kaydence was in trouble _now_.

"Where is she?" I asked again, forcing my voice to stay steady and calm. "I'm honestly prepared to make sure you _don't _get the death sentence if you tell me."

Again, he laughed. "That in love with her, eh? So bloody in love with her that you'll let a murderer who was supposed to be executed years ago hide from death again?" I glared, curling my hands into fists and then releasing them repeatedly. Koharu looked away from us.

"Don't play games with me, Smires," I spat, "Where are they?" This time, it was an officer who held the gun to his side.

"If you're smart, you'll answer him," Chief Takamura muttered in his ear. I smirked. The right Chief of Police had been chosen for the Ohtori Secret Police. I stared at Arthur hard, pressuring him with my gaze to tell us.

"You don't have to be a murderer, Smires. But if you don't tell us where they are, you'll be just as much of a murderer as Shireston. You'll feel the guilt of her death twice as much as you felt your wife's." I spat the last word, making the biggest impact I could on him. I thought it worked. His gaze shot to mine.

"I didn't mean... To kill her," he muttered, looking slightly ashamed even though his eyes were hard as ice. He didn't say anything after that.

"Dammit! Where are they?" More anger rised in my chest. Koharu closed her eyes out of the corner of my eyes. I didn't want to go in there and blindly search. That would just increase my chances of getting killed by Shireston. Smires smirked and kept his mouth shut smugly.

"Kyoya," Koharu said, pain panging in every word she spoke, "Go. Find her." I gazed at her for a moment and nodded. "And for God's sake, come back safely," she added, handing over the pistol she'd previously taken from my hands.

"I will," I murmured, easily sliding my hand around the weapon's grip. I turned to the Chief, "Make sure this bastard gets the death penalty," I growled in a low voice. He nodded.

"Will do, Boss!" I heard him call out as I ducked under the tape and ran toward the building.

–

It was quiet in the warehouse. Surprisingly, so. A few boxes and crates were scattered all over the place, leftovers from what the mill had been. There wasn't a scrap of rat droppings anywhere that I could, much to my surprise. Light coats of saw dust were flickered all over the place, again, reminders of what the place had once been.

I strode in cautiously, carefully holding the gun aloft and aimed toward the ground, finger off the trigger. There wasn't even the sound of light voices. I could feel my heart beating rapidly in anticipation. I was just _waiting _for Shireston to pop out. _Waiting _for him to jump out from behind a crate and shoot at me.

But nothing happened. There were no doors besides the one that I'd just come through. No doors to other rooms. No other exits. There were large loading docks, but those were hardly easy to lift. There wasn't even a damn door that led to a basement or something.

Was it at all possible that she'd already been moved? I scanned the room more carefully, taking in everything that was there, even pushing aside a few boxes. I frowned. Something wasn't right here. This room... It seemed a bit too small. I ran along the walls, searching for some clue of a secret door, heart still racing.

Ah ha! My jacket caught on a seam in the wall, invisible to the naked eye. I examined it closely and found that it was a small notch for a secret door. Carefully, I slid my fingers into it and pulled at it. It easily gave way, opening up to a hallway which, after flicking a light switch planted in the wall, I saw that it gave way to a flight of stairs. I crept toward them, holding up the pistol with two hands.

Voices were coming from down there. A male and a female. The voices echoed off the walls, making it hard to pinpoint where exactly they were.

I started running with light footfalls. "...do this. You don't need to enact revenge for them," the girl's voice floated up as I reached the bottom. _Kaydence._

It was another hallway. There were four doors, two of which were open. I marched toward the first one, keeping as quiet as possible as I listened to the conversation Kaydence and Shireston were having. "Shut up!" Shireston's voice screamed as I flew around the corner of the first open door. My heart sped up slightly but there was nothing. "I am going to kill you because you _betrayed _me by calling Ohtori. You betrayed my trust, Malronda! Your entire family has betrayed me! You deserve to die just for that fact!"

The scream, had come from the second open door, then, I decided quickly. "Any last words?" Shit! I heard a muffled sob. _Kaydence! _The image I'd had of her lying in a pool of her blood with a bullet in her head from my dream shot back into my mind. I froze right outside the open door. I peeked around the edge.

Kaydence was on her knees in front of Shireston, tears streaming down her face, looking like she was ready to die. Her face turned away from him, from me. She was giving up. She didn't think anyone would be able to save her. His gun was pointed straight between her eyes.

I crept around the door, fully revealing myself to anyone who was facing the door, which Shireston was not. I aimed at the back of his head. There was a chance I'd miss. I'd only ever used a gun once before, of course.

"I expected more from you. Kaydence," Shireston's voice breathed out.

I didn't even think about what I was doing. For once in my life, I acted on instinct instead of logic. On my heart instead of mind. And what is it that I did in that one second that Shireston whispered those words while holding a gun to my friend's head?

I pulled the trigger.

– _Koharu – _

It was silent as I stared at the warehouse. Completely, utterly silent. I clutched the front of my jacket in worry. Tachibana was gripping my arm, probably under Kyoya's orders, to keep me from running in after him even though my heart wished to.

It was painstakingly quiet for 10 minutes. Ten retched minutes of waiting in a silence that was threatening to steal away my voice with it. So that I might join the silence.

Then, just as I was about to breath a sigh of relief that everyone was fine, I heard a loud _BANG_!

I heart stopped and my eyes widened. "Kyoya," I whispered, fear seizing my heart once more and making me almost hysterical. "Kaydence."

Before Tachibana could even think to react I broke free from his grasp and ducked under the tape, running straight toward the warehouse with no weapon and no concern for my own safety whatsoever. "_YOSHIIVA-SAN!_" Tachibana yelled from behind me.

I ignored him and kept running.

– _Kyoya – _

I could have sworn that I heard a double shot. That, perhaps, Shireston had shot Kaydence at the same time that I had shot him. Shireston fell forward at the same time she dropped backward, his body falling on top of hers and his handgun slipping from his grasp toward the floor. My heart stopped, seeing them.

I knew Shireston was dead. I'd shot him at the base of the neck. But, Kaydence. Kaydence was still. Way too still. Way too eerily still.

And there was too much blood for me to decipher whether it was all Shireston's or if she was hurt as well.

She was just laying there, still and seemingly lifeless. My nightmare came rushing back as I strode farther into the room. Toward her. "Kaydence?" I called softly, pulling Shireston's feet to drag his lifeless body, eyes still wide open, out of the way so I could get her.

"Kaydence!"

– _Kaydence – _

It was a soft voice that jerked me out of my mindless, floating state. A voice that told me I wasn't, in fact, dead. That I hadn't been shot through the head like the previous situation had insinuated. "Kaydence?" There was a heavy weight on me but I dared not open my eyes to see what it was. Soon, it was removed. "Kaydence!" I knew this voice but all I knew in my muddled state was that it was the prince. He had finally arrived to save the damsel in distress.

I released the breath that I hadn't known that I'd been holding, cautiously opening my eyes to stare up into the worried onyx orbs looking down on me.

Surprisingly, he hadn't fallen to his knees yet. There was something warm on my face and I carefully, as though I hadn't moved my arm in such a long time that I didn't know how to, reached up to touch it. When I pulled my fingers away to look at it I let out a choking sob.

_Blood_. It was _blood_. Certainly not mine. But it was someone's.

He fell to his knees at last as I sat up and looked around me wildly, trying to take in all that was around me and all the information that it presented.

A body in the corner, a hole in its head, blood soaked straight into the fabric of its jacket. A river of red from where said body had been dragged across the floor. Red speckled white t-shirt on my own body. To the teenage boy kneeling in front of me, his knees in a shallow pool of blood.

That's when I recognized the body as I stared at it. Tate Shireston. My friend, my brother, my haven, dead. His, once beautiful blue eyes, staring at nothing. Tears stung at the corners of my eyes as the teenager called my name again. "Kaydence!" I looked up at him, salty bitter tears falling down my cheeks. My body converting to hysterics as it had before.

"Kyoya," I breathed, clutching his arms and pulling myself toward him. He helped, pulling me closer, both our arms shaking slightly. "You came," I mumbled, sobbing softly into his jacket, "I-I told him you'd come."

"Of course I did," he murmured in reply as I clutched the back of his coat as if I was clinging onto life itself. I was safe in his embrace. I was safe and no one could hurt me. "Couldn't let you get slaughtered by that insane bastard, could I?" I giggled a little through my tears and pulled away, wiping my eyes in the process. As I looked at him, I was struck by a sudden realization. I'd lied to him back at the ball. All this time, all I'd thought about was _him_ and everything that had widened our friendship over the last year. _Just him_.

"Kyoya, I... I lied to you," I stammered, staring at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked gently, soothing my traumatized mind in a way only a doctor's son could. He pushed my hair behind my ear. I felt warm in the face and hoped that I wasn't red.

I opened my mouth to speak but a yell from outside stopped me. "_KYOYA!_" A second later a _very _familiar female face flew in front of the door. Kyoya spun around, staring at her with a look of annoyance and slight shock in his eyes.

"Koharu," he said quietly as I gasped under my breath in realization. _Koharu_. My _cousin _Koharu. "I thought I told you to stay outside, no matter what you heard." Concern wrapped its way into his voice, though he tried to control it.

She gave him this look. "And you honestly expected me to listen when I heard a stupid gunshot that could have been in the direction of either of you two doofuses?" she retorted, casting an uneasy glance at the body that was in the corner. His eyes softened considerably, I noticed with a sinking heart. He still had hold of my arm, as if afraid that if he let go I'd fall to the clutches of death.

I was careful not to look at Tate's body. Bloody hell, I even tried not to think about it. But it was haunting my memory, causing me to shake my head. "And you!" Koharu exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger in my direction. "God, what were you _thinking_? My first day at Ouran and I find out that _you _got yourself kidnapped. I was worried sick!"

I smiled. That was the Koharu I remembered. Kyoya chuckled lightly and stood, pulling me with him. My knees were shaky after my recent experience with the grim reaper. Koharu hurried forward to support one side, giving me a warm hug in the process. "I missed you, Kay," she muttered in my ear. I smirked.

"Missed me enough to get yourself wrapped up with this guy?" I asked sarcastically, jabbing my thumb in Kyoya's direction. I cast a forlorn glance at the corner as we left the room, against my resistance. My face twisted with anguish. He'd been my best friend. He'd lived in my house for 3 years. I couldn't wipe away those memories even though he had ended up being the one that tried to destroy me in the end.

Kyoya nudged me forward. "Don't look at him, Kay," he murmured, blocking my view with his body. "It'll only make you breakdown." I nodded and faced forward, drawing a shuddering breath as they helped me along.

By the time we reached the stairs, I'd found my legs again and ran ahead of them, completely ready to be out of this place. To be free.

Glancing back I noticed Kyoya's arm wrap around Koharu. She leaned in and whispered something in his ear which made him smile and reply in the same hushed tone. No matter how much I liked him, as I'd just recently discovered, she had him wrapped around her finger and he had her around his. I didn't have to tell Kyoya the lie that I'd slandered. I could keep it a secret and let it die with me.

I wouldn't interrupt their happiness.

Now I understood why Tate couldn't tell me that he loved me. Even if I hadn't realized at the time that I liked Kyoya, he had understood my odd scathing behavior toward him as affection.

But it didn't matter now, of course. It didn't matter, because now I was free. And I couldn't wait to see my family. Couldn't wait to let go of these bloody depressing memories that flooded my being. Couldn't wait to banish them from my existence.

–

**A/N: I lied. One more chapter after this. I realized after I started writing this and it was getting to be 17 pages long, that I should probably split it up to save you guys the brain fart. Last chapter's mainly going to be a little bit of an epilogue and the after-events (such as Tate's funeral since I know some are still in love with him even after what he did). **

**I think we've reached a new record in the Kudos department! Nine! Cue the flashing lights and weird New Years noise makers! **

**Kudos to thearistocrat, KageNoNeko, TwilightFever-FutureCullen, Sethrox9730, StoryOfFiction (who also went back to chapter nine and reviewed JUST to urge me to continue), wyssa, an anonymous reviewer by the name of "M," and Kiriyu-chan. And as always my lovely beta reader/editor Koharu Veddette! **

**Oh... I get it now. If I threaten to cut off the story, I get a giant flow of reviews. Note to self: DO THIS MORE OFTEN. **

**Nah. Just joking. But seriously. If I can get that many reviews with every chapter, I'd be so estatic that I might even get updates out by the _day_. **

**I must be a sadist. Because with every single one of those reviews that I read, I felt the urge to hold this chapter from all of you _more_. Yet, at the same time, they all made me want to keep writing. My mind works in such _odd _ways. **

**I think... That my style did a random change again. The paragraphs suddenly lengthened... and the details increased in number. Fffff. And here I thought that it was done doing that. I blame finishing Song of the Sparrow. **

**//Ends page long author's notes**


	14. Moving On

_Like a Cloud in the Wind _

_By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl _

_Chapter 14 – Moving On_

Kyoya refused to allow me to go straight home, insisting that I go to the hospital first.

The scars on my hands that had once been infected had healed and were nothing but memories of the past. My ankle, which I had apparently sprained, hadn't healed right so I would walk with a slight limp for awhile until physical therapy corrected it.

Amazingly, I hadn't broken any bones. Even with all the kicks to my gut, I suffered from no serious injuries. They kept me overnight, just to make sure. Koharu never left my side, Kyoya leaving only to get my family and the Host Club, much to my despair.

–

Somewhere along the line I'd had to ask, "Kyoya? How long was I missing?" Both had failed to tell me the date or what this fact was. Koharu was asleep in an armchair in the corner so I figured it was a good time to have a private conversation with him. He looked up at me from where he was scribbling in his bloody notebook. What the hell did he write in that thing anyway?

He heaved a sigh and stared me in the eye. "Guess."

I rolled my eyes and put a finger to my chin in thought. It had been the 26th of September when the stupid ransom picture had been taken at the hole. The ball had been on the 11th. I must've been in that blasted hole for at least 12 days after that bringing it to the 8th of October. I had absolutely no clue how long I'd been in the warehouse. Three or four weeks maybe? That was about two months. "Two months?"

He shook his head, smirking in that way that always annoyed me. "I've been looking for you for almost three months, Kaydence. You were set to be killed on November 26th if the ransom wasn't paid. It's the 25th."

I stared at him. Bloody hell. Three _months_? I blinked back tears at realizing how much I'd missed. I hadn't seen my family in three months. I hadn't seen anyone but Alrod, Arthur, and Tate in _three months_. "W-Why didn't you give up?" I mumbled.

He let out a short, harsh bark of laughter. "I couldn't very easily do that with your father breathing down my back and with guilt looking me in the eye everywhere I went could I?"

I gave a resigned sigh. Alright. So, my sense had been wrong about him. Sure he could manipulate you into the next century. But he wouldn't give up on something he had faith in doing. That was why he was going to be the CEO of the Ohtori empire while I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. "Kyoya?" I asked, diverting his attention from his notebook again.

"Yes, Kaydence?" he replied patiently.

"You may seem like a heartless bastard... But you're a really good friend," I muttered, swallowing my pride in the process just to give him that bloody compliment. I saw him smirk out of the corner of my eye before he stood and left the room.

–

I saw Pierce before he saw me. His blond hair was longer but his identical green eyes were wide with amazement and relief. A smile was plastered on his handsome face as well. "Kaydence!" Pierce exclaimed, running forward as soon as he caught sight of me lying in bed in my hospital room. "My baby sister's safe at last," he murmured in my ear as he embraced me. I squeezed him, smiling slightly even though I was reliving the dream I'd had in the hole of him leaving me in despair.

"Where are Mum and Dad?" I asked, surprising myself by using the names for them that I hadn't used since I was 10.

"I think Father's talking to Kyoya out in the hall. Mum's probably out there, too," he muttered, peering into my eyes like he was looking for something. "How're you? Feeling alright? Kyoya said you got really sick somewhere along the line."

I nodded, flinching at the memory of being in the hole and thinking I was going to die because I couldn't hold food down. His face turned into a frown when he noticed the flinch. "I'm fine," I reassured him halfheartedly, "Really, Pierce. I'm fine. Or at least I am now."

He smirked at me. "Happy that Kyoya got to you?"

I snorted. "Please. I'd be dead right now if it weren't for him. I'm more than happy. I'm ecstatic." He just let his smirk turn to a grin and shook his head.

"Poor, naïve little sister," he murmured as a small yelp came from the door, startling Koharu awake. I looked over at the door to see my mother standing there with her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes. Her black hair, like Pierce's, had lengthened considerably and now fell a little past her shoulders. Her green eyes held the same sort of love that it always had, only with a different intensity

"Mum," I whispered, staring at her. She strode forward quickly and I immediately remembered why I avoided worrying her as I was enveloped in a bone crushing hug. We didn't say anything. Just stared at each other as she stroked my hair and attempted to hold back her relieved tears.

I looked up when I heard a cough. I smirked, looking at the blond haired ponytail that I was hanging at the nape of my father's neck. That probably drove Mum star-crazing mad. She'd always hated it when Dad and Pierce would refuse to cut their hair to a reasonable length. His hazel eyes twinkled with a different light than they used to. "Dad," I acknowledged softly, watching his face break out in a grin.

"My little girl," he murmured as my mother moved aside to let my father embrace me. "You have no clue, how worried I've been."

I rose an eyebrow at him. "You? Worried? Never!" I exclaimed sarcastically. He glared at my sarcasm but smiled all the same. "Y'know... It's all his fault," I added, pointing in Kyoya's direction where he was seducing Koharu while leaning against the door frame. He looked up, smirking like always.

"I know," he replied, glaring at him, "It's all his fault that you were taken in the first place."

"No," I stated slowly, eying him oddly, "That, was my own stupidity and lack of control. I was talking about the fact that I'm here, _alive_, that's all his fault." My lips twitched upward into an amused smirk at the look on his face. Like he'd prefer to die than ever admitting that Kyoya had actually done some good. "Kyoya, has be apologized to you yet?" I asked, glancing over to see him shake his head. I turned my eyes back to my father who was looking down at my sheets shamefully. "Dad, apologize," I commanded in a tone I wouldn't normally use with Layne.

He rolled his eyes for a moment. I eyed him dangerously. He wasn't getting out of this. Somehow, my hate for Kyoya had transferred to my father. We'd switched roles the minute that I'd been kidnapped. Kyoya instead of being the savior of his daughter's sanity and the source of my daily annoyances had turned into _my _savior and the source of my father's dislike.

Begrudgingly, he turned to my friend and took a deep breath. "I apologize, Kyoya," he said quietly, wringing his hands behind his back like he'd rather strangle me for making him apologize. I had to smirk to myself at a mission accomplished. My smirk was echoed by Kyoya's at the apology while he nodded in acceptance.

Everything was back to normal. Layne was wanting to strangle me. Felicity was fretting over my every issue. Kyoya was getting on my nerves. Koharu was just grinning at everything. Pierce was quietly sitting in a corner with an amused look on his face, occasionally inputting something that annoyed the hell out of me even _more_.

And yet, there was still something missing.

But I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

I looked around the room again as my family plus Koharu and Kyoya chattered endlessly. It wasn't Tate. Tate didn't even belong in this perfect picture anymore. My heart ached slightly at the thought, but I pushed it aside and shook my head, frowning.

No, it was something else.

But _what was it_?

The romanticized yell of my name from the outer hall gave me a hint. A startled nurse that was standing outside my room looked up with a blush on her face as 5 handsome men swooped into my room, followed by a bored-looking, annoyed Haruhi.

So that was what it had been.

Never thought I'd miss the Host Club. But as soon as they had entered the room (which was getting rather cramped) everything finally seemed to be exactly as it should be.

"Princess Kay!" Tamaki exclaimed, gliding over as if his legs were made of wisps of smoke. I glared at him. Seeing the glare made him immediately correct himself. "Kaydence." I rolled my eyes. He would never get it right.

I felt two arms around my shoulders and sighed as identical cheeks rubbed against mine. "We missed yooooou!" the twins chorused in whiny voices.

"Guys, you're suffocating her," Haruhi muttered, saving me from them. I shot her a quick, thankful smile. She returned it with a nod.

"Kay-chan!" Hunny said excitedly, bouncing up and down in the manner he always had. "Kay-chan, Kay-chan!"

I laughed softly. "Yes, Hunny?"

"Me and Takashi brought you some cake! Get better, alright?" he responded, beaming down at me from Mori's shoulders as he presented me with a triple layer rich chocolate cake that I was sure I would hardly be able to touch. I smiled at him and took it anyway. "We were worried about you, Kay-chan! Right, Takashi?"

"Ah," Mori replied, though his eyes were soft when he looked at me. I offered a sheepish look. Had I worried every person on the face of the planet with my disappearance? Apparently I had.

But, now that didn't matter. I was safe now. And no one had to worry about me. No one ever had to worry about me again.

I'd always remember the 25th of November as a memorable day. It was the day that I'd been ripped away from death's doorstep at the last minute. Granted, I was probably going to be traumatized by this entire event for the rest of my life and Tate's memory would haunt me, but maybe that would cause me to open up more like my mother had always wanted.

–

Koharu and I giggled as we caught up and reminisced. We were staying in one of the guest rooms on the opposite side of the house that my room was on since seeing the door of Tate's bedroom had almost made me collapse in a fit of crying.

"So," I murmured, "what exactly happened while I was away?"

She grew rigid. "What d'you mean?" she asked cautiously.

I sighed. The naïviety of this girl was amazing sometimes. Honestly I meant what had happened to her while I was missing. Before I could reply, her cellphone started ringing boisterously on the table top. I glanced at the caller ID and smirked. She snatched it up, shooting a glare at me with a face red as a tomato before hurrying out of the room.

I sighed and laid down on the floor in surrender to my stiff back's cries for movement. I winced as it cracked and got used to the position, straining to listen to Koharu talk on her phone outside of the room. She was so cute. It was like we were little schoolgirls again. Crushing on boys and glaring at each other for talking about them.

I closed my eyes. Ahh, the heartache was still there. Dammit, I'd never let myself be so vulnerable before this. Before this entire charade with getting kidnapped and treated like I wasn't human. Before the ball had happened and I'd kissed Kyoya. Before Tate betrayed my friendship.

_No! I can't think that!_ I shook my head furiously and wiped tears from my eyes. I couldn't start crying over this again. I wasn't weak. I didn't need a therapist to sort out my problems. I could do it myself. I was strong.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" Koharu asked from the bed. I jumped, not having noticed her return to the room. I shook my head and laid back down. She gazed down at me sympathetically. "You won't ever forget it, Kay. No matter how much you want to."

"I know," I mumbled, raising my arm to cover my eyes. Damn, I was tired. "So, what happened while I was gone." I shifted the subject easily.

Koharu frowned. "Your parents both freaked out. Tate was a jerk. Pierce g–," she started rattling off events but I cut her off with a shake of the head.

"I mean with Kyoya," I murmured, "As you very well know."

"What about him? Nothing happened," she answered, a bit too quickly to keep my curiosity at bay. She shifted her eyes away from me, glancing at the computer screen sitting behind her. "Oh hey, loo–!"

"Koharu," I deadpanned, "I can see the way you look at each other. Just tell me what happened."

Koharu sighed and looked at her hands, which were folded in her lap. "Well..." she trailed off as _my _cellphone started ringing. I glared at it, willing the person on the other end to just give up and leave me alone. However, the ringing persisted. I picked it up off the floor and pointed at Koharu. She wasn't about to get away with not answering me. I glanced at the caller ID. _9 – Kyoya Ohtori_.

Now, what the hell could he want?

I flipped it open. "What?" I asked in a bored tone.

"What was it that you said you lied to me about?" he asked curiously. I felt all color drain from my face. It was odd for him to ask questions of me in the first place. Somehow, I'd known that he would ask eventually, though. But did he have to do it while I was interrogating Koharu for information?

"Do we have to do this right now?" I asked with a frown, "I'm busy interviewing Koharu about her relationship." _With you_, I added in my head.

"Yes, we do have to do it now. Because I won't be able to sleep until I know every single one of your secrets," he retorted sarcastically. There was the Kyoya I knew and loved. I couldn't help smiling.

"Honestly?"

"Honest to God," he replied, sounding very much like he was taking an oath. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I probably wasn't going to get out of telling him this.

"Hold on," I grumbled. I pulled myself off the floor and held a finger up to Koharu. Soon, she was going to spill all the beans, even if it would kill me. Because I was about to spill all my beans and I felt that we needed to be even. I strode out the door, closing it behind me, and headed for the stairs so I could sit. That way, Koharu also wouldn't be able to overhear, too. "You remember what happened at the ball," I started, freezing because I was _really _reluctant to tell him.

Seriously, I would take this secret with me to the grave if I had to. But then, he wouldn't leave me alone.

"If I remember correctly, you kissed me," he replied, a slight tone of amusement laced into his voice.

_Way to get to the point. Though, I would have rather beat around the bush for awhile. _I took a deep breath. "Yes."

"And you blamed it on hormones, too. Such a flimsy excuse."

I spluttered. "Flimsy? _Flimsy_?" Did he _have _to do that? Honestly. "For God's sake! What else was I going to blame it on?!"

"Your unbearable attraction to me," he responded. He was just barely holding on to his laughter. I could tell. If I could glare at him through the phone and have that one look kill him, I'd bloody do it. 

"Blood hell, Kyoya. If you knew, why did you have to call?" I asked angrily, hanging up immediately afterwords. I ran a hand through my hair and rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands. Such an infuriating bastard. He would probably call back.

Sure enough, a few seconds later my phone started ringing like crazy. I ignored it for a while. Let him keep guessing. He deserved it, the bastard. When I finally did answer I didn't even get the chance to talk. "Are you that mad with yourself?" he asked bemusedly.

I frowned, feeling my left eye twitch in annoyance. "I'm not mad at myself. I'm mad at you."

"If you were mad at me, you wouldn't have picked up the phone again, Kay. I know you too well." Damn him. Damn him to bloody hell. "So... You like me?" He sounded pleased with himself.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Don't give yourself a big head now," I muttered, ignoring the voice in the back of my head that was telling me I was loving this conversation. Just hearing the sound of his voice, really.

"Do you, Kaydence?"

I sighed. There was no holding back now. "Yes. I do. Happy? But that doesn't matter. Since you obviously are in love with my cousin."

"Thought you were looking at us funny," he murmured. Did he sound... sorry? Was that just a little tinge of regret I heard in his voice? I must be dreaming.

"Are you happy with her?" He was silent. "I'll take that as a yes. And she's happy with you?" Again, silence assaulted my eardrums. "Good luck to the two of you then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go interrogate your girlfriend."

This was when he chuckled softly. "You're really just going to give up like that?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the conversation now. "If you're happy and she's happy, I'm not going to intrude on that."

He was silent for a moment, seemingly in thought. The words that came out of his mouth when he spoke, surprised me. "Thanks, Kay. Thanks a lot." He wasn't sarcastic or harsh in any sort of way. It was pure, genuine gratitude.

"If you ever need your life saved, tell me. I owe you one," I retorted with a halfhearted joking tone, feeling slightly heavy in the heart now. He let out a short bark of laughter.

"Goodnight, Kaydence."

"Night, Kyoya," I mumbled in reply, bringing the phone away from my ear to press end and leaning back against the wall. That had been the tough part. Now came the healing process that I'd be able to take care of _by myself_. I pushed myself off the floor and headed back to the guest room Koharu and I were staying in.

Time to interrogate all the juicy facts out of my cousin.

–

Tate's funeral was held on the 1st of December, after Kyoya's initial shooting of him had been passed off as defending and saving me. I wished, when I looked in that fancy coffin, that I could remember him for something other than what he had turned into towards the end of his life. But memories of his angry, screaming face always blurred out the fond, happy ones.

I wished, that I could push past this. Or forget about it completely.

I wished, that for once something like death of this caliber, didn't have to hurt so much. Even when it had ended so harshly.

"Kyoya, is there a kind of drug that can make you forget about 3 months of your life?" I asked softly as I stood by the coffin, gazing down at Tate, with Koharu and Kyoya next to me. "Is there any way?" The pain in my voice was apparent even to me, though I tried to force it out of it.

He sighed. "Unfortunately, no."

"Why would you want to do that, Kay? You're so much more fun now than you were before," Koharu interjected, half-joking, half-serious. I made a face at her. She reflected it back at me.

"Because, it hurts. It hurts that I can't remember him as he was to me before. That I can't look past that horrible evil that took over him..." I trailed off, covering my mouth and closing my eyes as tears threatened to spill over onto my cheeks for the millionth time in the last week. It wouldn't go away. This horrid pain in my chest. No matter how much I tried to erase it, it just wouldn't.

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and glanced up quickly. _Kyoya_. He squeezed my shoulders. Despite the fact that Koharu was his girlfriend, neither of them seemed to be bothered at all by how he was comforting me. Maybe it was because they both knew I'd given up.

He drew in a breath sharply. "Kaydence. If I could offer some advice," he murmured. I nodded, wiping my eyes. "Therapy is a very nice way to get over death or traumatizing events."

"No," I muttered, "I can do it myself. It'll just take time."

"Kaydence," he tried to reason, "Even you need help sometimes."

"I know that," I retorted softly, "That's why I have you, Koharu, and the rest of the Host Club." He sighed gently in consent. "And I know you'll help. You're from a family of doctors after all." He smirked at this and nodded. I was so incredibly happy to have him as a friend, who was quickly becoming my best friend.

I turned away from the coffin, drawing in a shudder breath.

Time to get on with my life.

–

I couldn't get out. There was no way that I'd get out. He wasn't going to make it. No one was ever going to make it. And those cruel, swimming faces were just taunting me. Taunting me with their horrid ways of mockery.

I couldn't stand it.

I had to escape. I had to escape but the walls were closing in on me. I banged on the door, tears running down my face. "Let me out!" I screamed as the door swung open. The swimming faces were there and a gun was pointed at my head. "No," I whispered, eyes widening with terror, "_NO!_"

"Kaydence!"

"_NO! STOP IT!_"

"Kaydence! Honey!"

My eyes flew open, staring wide into my father's eyes. He was sitting on the edge of my bed, pushing my hair away from my face and holding my flailing fists gently in his grasp. "Dad?" He sighed softly and pulled me into his arms, squeezing me close to him.

"It was just a dream, Kay. It was just a dream. You're safe. You're safe," he murmured in my ear, stroking my hair and kissing my cheek. "You're ok."

I choked out a dry sob and clung to his night shirt. I felt like a little kid again. A little 8-year-old girl that had a scary dream and needed the comfort of her father's arms around her until she calmed down enough to sleep again. I didn't want to be that scared little girl. I wanted to be the strong 16-year-old that I was. "Dad," I mumbled, glancing at the clock. _3:17 AM. _On December 8th. 

"Yes, Kay?"

"I love you."

He smiled, holding me close. "I love you, too."

"I'm sorry I woke up you."

"It's alright. You need me more than I need sleep."

"I think, you can go back to bed," I muttered, pulling away from him. He frowned.

"You're sure?" I nodded. "Alright, Kay. Sleep well. You'll be ok, honey." He patted my hand and kissed my forehead before standing. He walked toward the door slowly, yawning and rubbing his lower back. I felt slightly guilty for keeping him up on various nights. I'd been having the same hellish nightmares almost every night for the past week.

"I know, Dad. Goodnight."

"Night, Kay."

–

During breakfast the next morning, Uncle Yamato was sitting at the table instead of Kyoya. I eyed him for a moment, running through all the reasons why he could be here in my head. "Uncle Yamato. What're you doing here?" I asked, smiling since I hadn't seen him in awhile.

My father beat him to the punch. "Kaydence, do you think you'd prefer to live with Koharu and Yuigo in their apartment?" I stared at him. Seriously? That was why he was here? I opened and closed my mouth. "You'd be here on weekends when they go back to the main house, but during the week you could live with them. It's closer to the school, and it'll probably be easier on Kyoya to be able to get the two of you at the same place."

"You're serious?" I asked, still gaping at the two of them. "I could _live _with Koharu?" Dad nodded. "You're sure you want your little girl off all by herself?"

He smiled sadly. "Not too sure. But I trust your cousins to keep you safe. And they'll be there to help you when you need it better than your mother and I can."

I stared at them with my mouth open for a few more moments before nodding. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes. I'll do it." My face broke out in a grin as I nodded my head furiously in agreement.

I couldn't wait to tell Koharu.

–

"How're those nightmares of yours, Kaydence?"

I rolled my eyes at Kyoya. We were walking down the hall to the third music room for club after school right before Christmas break. "Hellish and persistent as always. I just feel bad for my father. He's always the one that has to calm me down."

"There's a way to solve that you know," he murmured, keeping his eyes straight ahead as I narrowed mine at him.

"I refuse to see a shrink, Kyoya," I deadpanned.

He sighed. "Whatever you say." We came to a stop in front of the door. I tapped my foot impatiently while Kyoya fished the key out of his pocket.

"Where's Koharu today?" I asked, smirking to myself as his face turned to a frown.

"I have no clue," he muttered, pushing the key into the lock and turning. "You mean you don't know where she is?" He raised an eyebrow at me. I shook my head.

"Perhaps, she's sick. Or maybe–."

"Maybe she's standing right behind you," Koharu finished in a grumble. She kissed Kyoya on the cheek as he pushed the door to the third music room open, making me slightly uncomfortable in the process. Sure, I'd conspired to let her have him. But that didn't make me any more comfortable around them. I coughed awkwardly. Kyoya sighed and ushered us in. "Next time you keep me up all night I'm gagging you," she added, pointing at me. I rolled my eyes.

"You should really do something about those nightmares, Kay," he continued. I sighed exasperatedly.

"For the last time, no. I have my friends and family. I don't need a bloody shrink." He shook his head in my direction. "I can take care of myself, Kyoya. I don't need anyone than those that I already have."

"Alright, alright," he mumbled, setting up his laptop on his usual table.

– _Six months later – _

Eventually, the combined forces of Kyoya and Koharu got me to go to a shrink eventually. Amazingly, it helped and now I had successfully put my past behind me, for the most part. Months of torturous therapy and endless support from the Host Club and my family had helped me with that. The end of the year ball was coming up. I still hated dancing and I still didn't want to go.

For some reason I got the feeling that it might just bring up bad memories. And those were the very memories that I'd taken all the time to bury. "I have a bad feeling, Haruhi," I muttered as I pulled my dress over my head. We were at my house, getting ready.

"Kyoya-sempai will be there the entire time, Kaydence," she answered.

"Really, Kay. You're going with _my _boyfriend. I don't get what you're so nervous about," Koharu muttered, moving to adjust Haruhi's tie.

I snickered. "Just because you have to pose as a male, doesn't mean I shouldn't enjoy myself," I retorted. "Besides, it's just for old times' sake. I'm not going to steal him away or anything."

"I dunno. You _did _like him once upon a time," she murmured, eying me suspiciously.

I spluttered at her. "Yes. Because back then I totally tried to steal him away and I totally still like him," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes and pulling at the front of my navy blue dress. It hung way too low for my liking. "Annabeth!" I called. The little Irish woman scurried into the room a moment later. "Is there anyway you could pin up the front of this dress?"

She smiled. "I thought you'd want that, Kay." She pulled out a needle and blue thread. "That young man better keep you safe, or your father will have a fit," she said softly with a pointed look, threading the thin string through the needle eye and tying a knot in the end with practiced ease. I rolled my eyes again.

"Dad almost didn't allow me to come to this one," I muttered as she started weaving the needle up the low-cut v-neck of my dress. "About 2 inches should be good." She nodded in acknowledgment and continued working.

"Kyoya should be here soon," Koharu stated, looking at her cellphone where he had probably sent her a text message. I frowned. Good thing I'd done my hair earlier. He lived right next door so I doubted 'soon' meant 10 minutes like it would for normal people. A few seconds later Annabeth tied off the thread that was sewing up my front.

Barely a minute after that the doorbell rang, announcing Kyoya's arrival.

I shuddered as memories from events after the last ball flashed through my head. I shook it and took a deep breath as my therapist had taught me. Haruhi and Koharu both patted me on the back on their way out my bedroom door. "Have fun, Miss Kay," Annabeth said with a smile. I nodded, pursing my lips and feeling slightly numb.

I drew another deep breath and strode slowly out the door.

–

"Will you relax?" Kyoya asked crossly as I caused more pain to his toes by jabbing my heels into his feet. I sighed. I couldn't relax. Everything that I'd done tonight had put me on edge. It all brought back things that I'd worked to push behind me.

"I can't," I muttered, "I just can't." I could practically feel the gun in my side and the hand over my mouth. I shook my head to clear the thoughts.

He sighed softly. "Kaydence, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he murmured, "I'm not going to let you walk home. I'm not going to let any convicted ex-criminals near you. If it so pleases you I won't even let you out of my sight."

I shook my head and breathed deeply. He stopped spinning me around in the middle of the dance floor long enough so that I could concentrate on breathing. Other couples bumped into us but we ignored their annoyed looks. "What time is it?"

He checked his watch before answering, "9:15." It felt more like two in the morning. I bowed my head for a moment, continuing in my breathing. "Kaydence, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," I mumbled.

"Come here," he muttered, taking hold of my elbow and dragging me toward the balcony. "You need air." He closed the glass double doors behind us, shooting a look at Koharu and Haruhi in the process. "Alright, what's wrong?"

"I-I keep reliving it. Keep thinking that it's going to happen again." I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to clear my mind of the bloody images running through it. Kyoya gripped my shoulders, forcing me to look at him.

"Listen to me. Nothing like that is going to happen to you again. I won't let it. Koharu won't let it. The rest of the Host Club won't let it. No one can get to you," he stated firmly. I stared into his eyes, feeling my panic wane slightly. "Got it? _No one will get you_."

I nodded, breathing a little more easily. "Thank you," I breathed. He nodded and led me back inside after a few minutes.

–

"I told you, you'd be fine," Kyoya muttered as he delivered me to my doorstep at midnight. I sighed softly. He had been right. All of his fucking firm reassurance had gotten me to feel at ease for the rest of the night after my near breakdown.

He'd been right the entire time. As he always had been. I shook my head. "Why are you always right?" I asked. His bloody smirk made an appearance.

"Because, if I was ever wrong the world would end," he retorted. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure," I muttered drily.

He shook his head, still smirking. "I'll see you and Koharu on Monday. Goodnight, Kaydence."

"Night, Kyoya," I murmured, stepping inside the door of my family's house.

Everything was fine. And now that I'd faced my fear, I'd always be fine. Therapy had helped push it behind me but it had been facing the fear of it being repeated that made me realize _I was free_. I was free from my past and now I could do anything.

–

A year later, Pierce was named heir to the Malronda fortune, as I'd always expected. We were set to go back to England in a month. I didn't want to leave. I'd created something for myself here, in Japan. I applied to take the entrance exam to Ouran's college unit so I could stay in Japan. I knew Kyoya was going there, Koharu too.

Kyoya had been named the inheritor of the Ohtori medical empire. Just as I'd always thought he would. And as he had said back on September 11th, 2010 he was going for a medical major plus a double up of business one. Crazy bastard.

Koharu was going into politics, seeing as she had most of the United Nations in her house. I thought she'd enjoy herself quite a bit. And if she ever needed a lawyer, Haruhi would be going into law after she graduated. The same blunt girl also had a summer internship at one of the biggest law firms in the country, thanks to her own hard work and a little bit of mine and Koharu's influence on the head.

I had finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life. After receiving the suggestion that I become a doctor from Kyoya, whom I snorted at and turned down with a smirk, I decided instead do a double major of forensic psychology and medical psychology. Meaning, Kyoya and I actually shared a class or two.

I was going to do the psychology that I had always found so enthralling while reading about in murder mysteries. Forensic so I could catch bastards like the ones that had kidnapped me a year and a half ago, medical so that I'd have a fall back. I'd always have a job open at one of the Ohtori hospitals. One of the many perks of having Kyoya as a best friend. Though, some would consider that cheating. I could actually be a rather useful therapist.

I'd still get the occasional flashback to the kidnapping. But other than that I was free from it. I was free from the traumatizing events of my stupid past.

I was free and though I hadn't found anyone to live for like Koharu and Kyoya had, I was fine with it. I didn't need anyone. I still had my family and friends. They were enough for me.

And nothing would never be as sweet as that.

–

**  
A/N: Y'see what would've happened if I'd kept that going as a big long final chapter? It would have been 23 pages! Now, instead, there's a 10 page one and a 13 page one. Whee. **

**Oh my lords. I can't believe it's finished. Really. What the hell am I going to do with all my free time now? Maybe, I'll write another fanfic. Though if I do that, expect it to be KyoHaru or TamaHaru. I have ideas running through my head constantly, I just don't have the patience to turn them into full blown developed stories. Maybe I'll work on little one-shots. **

**Kudos to Kiriyu-chan, KageNoNeko, the anonymous "M.", Sethrox9730, thearistocrat and Koharu Veddette! **

**See you all next time! **


End file.
